


A New Face on the Gravel

by FarJadeDragon



Series: BLU Team Adventures [1]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst, Blue Spy - Freeform, Canon Typical Violence, Choking/Suffocation, Fic gets better as the chapters go on, Freindships, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I Tried, Maybe - Freeform, Mystery, No happy endings, OC, OCs - Freeform, Sniper POV, Sniper has anxiety, Spook is the Old BLU Spy, Spook is the old spy, Spy is the new one, Trauma, Trust Issues, but this isn’t the end anyway so it doesn’t matter, critisism and tips for writing encouraged, first fic, like a smart person, miss pauling - Freeform, platonic, storybeat, team fortress two, tf2, yes I turned this mess into a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23659450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarJadeDragon/pseuds/FarJadeDragon
Summary: After the old BLU Spy disappears under strange circumstances, a new spy is hired. All seems well, until the old spy is revealed to still be alive and possibly in danger. Sniper and the new spy head off to go save him and discover something else has been going on.
Series: BLU Team Adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730344
Comments: 34
Kudos: 20





	1. The Morning

**Author's Note:**

> As a preface: this is my first fic. Criticism is needed. If you guys notice any spelling mistakes or recommend any tags tell me in the comments and I’ll fix them.
> 
> Another important note is that this will probably be heavily edited and changed. Thank you all for your patience.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just your everyday morning at the BLU Team's base.

The alarm went off on my nightstand. Rolling over, I smashed the button to turn it off and swung my legs over the side of my bed, rubbing my neck and yawning. After I managed to wake up enough to register that it was Monday, I headed out of my camper and to the main building.

Soldier was already doing his laps around the base, screaming at the top of his lungs to wake everyone up. Soldier was always the first to wake up. At least he made breakfast that was somewhat edible.

Unfortunately, it was Monday, which meant it was Pyro’s turn to cook breakfast. His specialty was burnt everything served with a side of ash. Served with enthusiasm but eaten only by himself and the garbage can by the fridge.

”GOOD MORNING SNIPER!”

Soldier had come in for breakfast. I haven’t even had my coffee yet. And I had too pee.

”Good morning Soldier.”

”Hrrph!”

“You too Pyro.”

”Hrrph?”

He was offering me some breakfast I think?

”No thank you Pyro. I’ll just have some coffee.”

Pyro nodded and went back to burning his scrambled eggs and humming some tune I couldn’t recognize. Soldier was enjoying a fine can of spam. Pyro has offered to fry it for him in the past, but soldier always said no, and then went on a rant about how spam is “made in America and good enough to be eaten out of the tin!”

Thankfully one of the few sane people here, Engie, Came down stairs.I said hello, and he politely greeted me. I offered some coffee, since I made some extra for anyone else who would want any. He happily accepted. Judging from the dark circles under his eyes, he and medic had been busy last night.

Engie got his cup and sat down with Me, Soldier, and Pyro. We started chatting with each other. Well, I didn’t really talk, Engie was too tired to really process much right now, and Soldier was yelling rather than actually talking.

”Mornin’ everyone!”

The other loud-mouth of the team, Scout, sauntered in with a grin. His grin turned to a grimace when he remembered Pyro cooked breakfast today.

”Aw gross! I forgot today was Monday!”

”Hrrmmph!”

”Ain’t my fault you can’t cook!”

“You can’t cook either son!”

”Shuddup Engie!”

Pyro was giggling at the two. Scout opened a cannot and took out his favorite sugary cereal.

  
Heavy and Medic came down later on. Heavy still wasn’t quite awake yet, while medic was completely wired. Thankfully the coffee was gone, so he won’t be completely crazy for today’s battle.

”Good morning!”

”Good morning doc.”

Spy was the last to come to the kitchen, dressed in his fitted suit. He’d say it was one of his better ones, but they all look the same honestly. He’s always the last one down. Not because he’s a late sleeper, but because he has to make sure he looks professional. He has standards after all.

”Good morning gentlemen”

”GOOD MORNING SPY!”

With that, everyone was downstairs. We have until noon to get ready for Today’s battle.Once I was done drinking by fifth cup of coffee, I took a piss and went back to my camper to prepare my weapons. A Kukuri would be good for today I think.

Hopefully.


	2. The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team's regularly scheduled Monday brawl, where nothing weird happens at all.

After lunch, the rest of the team finally got ready to battle. We all headed to our rooms to get our equipment and other supplies. I grabbed my Kukri and my sniper rifle. Grabbed some extra ammo too, in case I couldn't get the box. Running out of ammo is never good.

Walking to the respawn room, I bumped into spy. He was fiddling with his dead-ringer watch and smoothing out his suit.

"Bushman."

"Spy."

We both nodded in a short greeting and continued down the hallway, heels clicking on the crappy wooden flooring.  
Eventually we both got to the respawn room. Everyone else was there waiting for the Administrator to come on the intercom. Scout was chewing bubblegum, Medic was overhealing Heavy, Demo was checking his bombs, and Soldier was giving a very loud and obnoxious pre-fight speech.

"WE SHALL DIE AND LIVE AGAIN LIKE MEN!" He practically screamed. He marched up and down the room, turning on his heel like a drill sergeant was.

"Ya know if you would talk quieter me might actually be able to hear you!" Scout responded. 

"IF I TALK QUIETLY YOU MAGGOTS WOULDN"T HEAR ME"

"Not how that works soldier"

Pyro walked in. He was usually later to the Respawn room anyway, although he seemed a bit more frazzled than usual.

"Mmmph?"

"FIRE DOESN"T GIVE COMMANDS!"

"MMPH!"

Soldier was going to retaliate against Pyro's comment before the Admin came on the intercom.

"Round starts in one minute." She informed. Her voice was flat as usual.

"ROUND STARS IN ONE MINUTE" Soldier boomed.

"We can HEAR ya." Demo responded. I forgot he was in the room honestly.

Everyone gathered up their gear and waited by the door as the timer approached zero. We've done this so many times before, yet the first few seconds are always nerve-wracking for everybody. Even spy, who was currently checking his dead ringer one last time before putting it in his pocket.

"Ten Seconds remaining."

Pyro tested his Backburner.

"Nine seconds."

Soldier scratched his chin.

"Eight Seconds."

Scout spit out his gum into a nearby trashcan. He actually put it in the garbage this time, rather than on the floor next to it.

"Five seconds."

She missed a few seconds. She does that sometimes. Probably on purpose.

"Four seconds."

I'm really not looking forward to this.

"Three seconds"

Why am I so anxious? I've done this before.

"Two seconds."

I've done this so many times.

"One second."

We all have. So many times.

"Zero."

An alarm sounded and the door opened. Scout and Soldier rushed out, followed my Medic, Demo, and Heavy. Pyro followed them as well, although he went an alternate direction to ambush. I went the alternate way as well, following Pyro.

"Mmmph?"

"Trying a new nest today. Don't worry about it."

He gave me a thumbs up. He went one way, I went another, climbing up a building and setting up shop. I was well hidden, I think. Staring through my scope, I could see Engie building a sentry, with Pyro Guarding the dispenser he built. Scout was trying to fight off the RED heavy, but ended up getting mowed down, his body getting filled with bullet holes. I aimed my scope at the RED Heavy and took a breath. My hands where shaking. Probably all the coffee.

I fired.

I missed.

The RED heavy had moved at the last moment, and I ended up putting a bullet into the wall behind him. Now I have to move spots so he wouldn't be able to find me.

"Damn it."

I heard a spy uncloak behind me.

"Damn it!"

"Bonjour. Miss me?"

I whirled around, just barley managing to side-step to avoid a butterfly knife to my face. I pulled out my kukri, and slashed at him. He stepped back.

"Not at all." I growled. The RED Spy is always a pain to deal with. Sneaky and sly. Not a huge fan of disguises like our spy, but sneaky nonetheless.

I dodged another stab and slashed, stepping forward for more emphasis. I managed to cut his cheek, a thin line of blood starting to form on the cut.

"Ha!" I was grinning. Usually I'd be dead by now.

"You Little-" He growled. He then grinned, kicking my foot to knock me off balance. With a side-step, he lodged his knife into my throat. Or at least he tried to, if he hadn't been back-stabbed by Spy.

"Hello Sniper." He was grinning. He hated the RED Spy almost as much as I did. 

The RED Spy fell to the ground, his body dematerializing after a short while in front of my eyes.

"Hello."

His satisfied grin faded. He craned his neck, glancing outside of the hole I was using as a watchpoint.

"GET-" He screamed.

He didn't get to finish. I heard a missel scream behind me. Before I could duck or get out of the way, it collided with the edge of the window, exploding and sending shrapnel everywhere. I fell to the ground, my ears ringing and a searing pain in my back, like I had just been stabbed with molten metal. After a few seconds my vison cleared a bit. I looked around. Spy had been flung to the wall on the opposite side of the room from the force of the explosion. His body was riddled with shrapnel, and his arm had been cut off by a large piece of shrapnel. He let out a long, irritated sigh.

"I despise the RED Soldier." He grumbled. “My suit is ruined...”

"I do too."

I tried to get up, but couldn't. There was a piece of shrapnel lodged behind my knee. I grumbled, then flopped back to the floor, bleeding out.

"...Respawn is taking a bit too l-"

He turned his head towards the doorway. The RED Pyro was standing in the doorway, holding a gas can in his hand.

"Merde." He grumbled

Spy hated the RED Pyro way more than the RED Spy. Honestly it's more fear than hate for me. Our pyro can be ruthless but this one is inhuman. I suppose we all kinof are.

"MERDE!"

The room was suddenly full of gasoline. My lungs and eyes where burning. Worse still, I couldn't move, and from the sound of it, neither could spy. A flash of fire was seen near the doorway, and the entire room combusted.

Thankfully, my flesh melting off the bone was interrupted by a rude awakening in the respawn room. Dizzy and unsteady, I got to my feet, using the wall for support. Respawn sickness. Wonderful.  
I eventually managed to shake nausea off and look around. Spy wasn't here. Maybe he left before me? But I didn't hear him.

Suddenly Scout was in the room. He quickly got up, shaking a bit.

"Ergh. Stupid RED Sniper. Hiding behind that stupid g- oh hey Sniper. You look...awful. And Sweaty"

He was right. I was sweaty, although he didn't look much better.

"You don't look much better, Scout."

"I don't FEEL better either."

he shook his head.

"Have you seen spy?" I was curious.

"Not for a while," He answered. "why?"

"Just wondering."

We finished up the match. We managed to get the briefcase and bring it back to our base. Spy was still gone though. I asked the others, and still no sign. That's not too strange, although he usually only sulks like that if we lose. 

For dinner we where all gathered in the kitchen, save for Soldier, Demo (who was off drinking with Soldier) and spy. Pyro was making burgers, I think. They looked more like hockey pucks if I was being honest. At least they aren't raw.

"Anyone seen Spy?" Engie questioned. Nobody answered. "I see."

"I saw him during the battle." I responded. "Not for the second half though."

He nodded in response. We finished dinner. 

Soldier and Demo where blowing stuff up in the distance. Thankfully they haven't blown up my Camper. Yet. Once I got to my camper, I took off all of my clothing and  
laid down in my bed, exhausted. Despite how tired I am, I can't seem to fall asleep. Something feels off. I just don't know what. Maybe I just need to change my sheets more often.

Staring off into the roof of my camper, I sighed, and rolled over. Everyone else was asleep. Well, everyone but Engie and Medic. I don't think those two even sleep. Solider might be awake too, although you'd think I'd be able to hear him.

I need to sleep. We have another battle tomorrow, and not sleeping is probably a bad idea.  
Eventually, I drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Means a lot to a new writer like me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new spy arrives.

My alarm clock blared next to me. Grumbling, I rolled over and nearly smashed the damn thing bits.  
Instead, I turned it off using the button, like a reasonable person. I got dressed, putting on my vest and gloves before walking out of my camper.

Walking into the kitchen, I noticed something was off. Everybody was there, except for spy. Even Scout and Demo, who usually wouldn't be awake for another hour, where sitting at the kitchen table anxiously. They all seemed deeply concerned and uncertain.

"What-" I asked, but was then cut off by scout.  
"Battle's cancelled" he quickly responded, looking somber.

I was very confused. Something had happened. Something big. I really hoped it wasn't what I thought it was.

"...Why?" I finally asked, breaking the silence, regretting the answer.  
"Ya know how Spy disappeared after the battle?" Demo piped up from the table. "Well the spawner broke."  
"Malfunctioned." Medic corrected. "So today's battle was canceled, since it wouldn't be fair without nine members."

More silence. I couldn't believe it. well, I could, but I didn't want to. He was gone. I had hoped he had gone off on a job shortly after the battle. I guess he didn't this time.

"Mmph?" Pyro mumbled.  
"AFFIRMATIVE" Soldier yelled, breaking his own silence with record volume.  
"We should be getting a new spy sometime today." Engie clarified for anyone who couldn't understand Pyro's mumblings. "But he won't have the same level of training…" He trailed off.

The Admin was always an efficient women, But it hasn't even been a day. Guess spys come a dime a dozen. Although having a new, possibly untrained spy will put a damper on things. Bugger.

"So we're just supposed to train up the new guy?! He's a spy ain't he? He's supposed to be all sneaky 'n stuff. How're we gonna train that?" Scout pointed out. 

He had a point. None of us are spys, so none of us are sneaky enough to teach him how to do that sort of thing. Maybe he'll already know how to be sneaky. I guess Pyro could show him the secret paths at least. I could show him some hiding spots. Maybe this won't be too bad.

"Maybe we should just let 'em figure it out?" Demo suggested.  
"Cruel." Heavy added. "He does not know how things works."  
"He'll figure it out quickly!" Scout added. "We figured it out didn't we?"

We did. Still cruel though. One of the worst periods in all of our careers was the first battle. None of us knew how to do anything, even with our training and experience. Guess we should be lucky that the other team didn't know anything either.. 

"Still going to be a bit rough for him." I added. "Plus we all had some sort of training before we all came here. This guy might not."

Scout was about to say something, but he admitted defeat. 

"So we gotta train him then?" Scout grumbled. 

Then he had an idea. A stupid one.  
"How about we get Soldier to train him" Scout said.  
"You just don't wanna deal with him." I added, annoyed.  
"I WILL TRAIN HIM!" Soldier yelled. 

Great he was on Scout's side.

"Mmph?" Pyro had volunteered to train him. I think. Kinda hard to tell sometimes. 

Still not helping. At this rate the poor guy will never get trained.

"We will take turns." Engie said.  
"Ja." Medic agreed.  
"But why though? I can't teach him anything!" Scout whined, trying to get out of it.  
"Because we're team." Heavy responded. "We learned together, we can train together."  
"Aye." Demo said, taking a sip from a bottle. "Sounds reasonable."  
"Says the drunk."  
"Shuddup Lad."  
"Then it's settled," Medic was grinning. "We shall all help teach the new spy how to spy."  
"YES!" Soldier said, happy to finally have a person to teach.  
"Awww." Scout grumbled.

The rest seemed okay with the whole idea. I wasn't. I wasn't even on board with getting a new spy. Why was he so easily replaced? Was it done on purpose?

"Mmph?" Pyro said, putting a hand on my shoulder.  
"I'm not really the teaching type." I said. "Not much I can help with anyway."

Pyro waved his hand dismissively. I'm sure he was saying something encouraging, but I couldn't understand a single thing. The others where talking about what they could teach the new guy. Pyro wanted to show him the backways. Solder wanted to teach him...something involving rocket jumping. Scout wanted to teach him how to r-

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Not the door to the battlefield, but the door to the outside. Scout ran over, grabbing his bat in case it was someone not welcome. Thankfully, it was just Miss Pauling.

"Aye it's Miss Pauling!" Scout said excitedly. He opened the door, letting Miss Pauling walk past him. She was soaking wet form the rain outside.

"Hi everybody." She said, looking tired as usual. "Okay so you guys know about the respawn thing right?"  
"Aye."  
"Okay good." she said. "I won't have to explain much."

She was flipping through her notepad.  
"Okay so the battle is cancelled for today, obviously." She said. "And your new spy should be here right about... now. Right now."

A man, dressed in a soaking wet mask and suit walked in. He was shorter than our spy, and much younger. He was also wearing a rain hat, and no other rain gear. He did have a briefcase though.  
He also had a long scar, going from above his brow, over his left eye, and down his cheeck, stopping at his chin. It looked like it was deep, although I couldn't see much with his mask.

"Okay." Miss Pauling said. "He's your new spy. So uh...yea."

The spy looked around the room calmly, matching the scrutinizing look from my team members.

" 'Ello." He finally said, smiling a bit.  
"WELCOME TO THE TEAM PRIVATE!" Soldier greeted with enthusiasm.

The new spy's eyebrows raised a bit, although he didn't seem too put-off.

"Thank you," The spy said. "For the...enthusiastic welcome."  
"Alright so while you guys get...used to each other." Pauling was flipping through a notepad. "I have to go. See you guys!"

She waved as she walked out into the rain. Scout waved back, and closed the door. I walked up to the spy and stuck out my hand.

"Welcome to the team." I said. He grinned and shook my hand.  
"Sniper?" Engie said. "Why don't you show him around."

I sighed.

"Follow me." I said to the spy.

He followed, carefully and steadily.


	4. The Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sniper finally takes the new spy on the grand tour.

I suppose the first place I should show the spy is the kitchen. Thankfully we were already here so all I had to do was gesture around with my hand. The kitchen was kinda the middle of the whole base.

“This here mate is the kitchen,” I said. “It’s where we do the cookin’.”  
“I would assume.” He said. “Given that it is a kitchen.”

He was still grinning like an idiot. I led him down the hall towards the lab- er, “clinic” as Medic insists it’s called. Doesn’t look much like a clinic though. More like a tourture chamber than a medical professional’s office.

“Is this the Engineer’s lab?” He asked, not looking too fond of the needles and scalpels.  
“Nah mate, just a clinic.” I responded, trying to ease his mind a bit.

He raised an eyebrow, probably not very convinced. Can’t blame ‘em though.

“Yea. Clinic. If ya ever get sick or injured outside of battle ya gotta come here. I know it ain’t the most...invitin’ place around. But it’s a clinic.”  
“I see.” He responded, glancing around at the various bottles and syringes.

He followed me out of the lab and down the bedroom hallway. Most of us slept and kept our stuff here. I usually slept in my camper, but I do have some stuff here, like extra piss jars.

“That’s Heavy’s room.” I said. “That one there is Scout’s. That scorched one there is Pyro’s.”

He nodded as I rattled off names, still following closely. I led him past the other’s rooms.

“I noticed your room was empty, as was the Soldier’s…” He trailed off.  
“Right.” I said. “I don’t sleep here. I sleep out in the camper by the front.”  
“And the soldier?”   
“I...Think he buried his stuff out in the yard.” I said. “He’s a bit weird about that sorta stuff.”

Specifically he buried it right by the entrance to one of the damn buildings. I nearly lost my head to tripping on the bloody steamer trunk many times. I gotta tell him to move it later. Although there is a large chance that not even he remembers where he buried his stuff.

“Ah.” He responded. “Interesting.”  
“That’s one way of puttin’ it.” I grumbled. Soldier can be a bit of a pain sometimes...most of the time. At least he was good at dealing with the medic on the other team.

Eventually I led him to his room. It used to be Spook’s room, full of various fancy furniture and other vain garbage. Now it was completely empty, a barren room containing a bed and a chest. Somehow it felt even more empty with the bed than it would’ve without it. 

How the hell did they manage to clear the bloody room so fast? Did they do it in advance? They did didn’t they? Why didn’t Spook say anything? Did he not notice? How do you not notice your bloody furniture being taken out of your own room? Maybe they somehow moved ‘em while we were asleep? Surely I would’ve noticed it right? I should have. Even if it happened in the dead of the night I should have at least heard something. My ears aren’t that bad yet.  
Maybe he did do it on purpose. He did always seem a little stir-crazy in the base, even if Spook wouldn’t admit it. Maybe he wanted a way out. Guess he would fake his death. Wish he at least told us though, We could’ve at least helped him get his papers together.

A two-note whistle yanked me out of my thoughts. I turned toward the spy, who looked a tad concerned.

“Ello? Sniper?” He waved a hand in front of my face. “Are you still awake? You’ve been standing in the doorway for...five minutes.”

I shook my head.

“Er, yes. I’m fine mate. Just uh...a bit tired is all.”

He didn’t believe me at all, judging by his raised eyebrow. But he didn’t question further, thankfully. At least he was polite.

“Anyway, this’ll be your room.” I said, walking into the room and patting the bedpost.  
“...Barren.” he said flatly.  
“Ya can decorate it if ya want to mate.”

He nodded, setting his briefcase near the bed and hanging his soaking wet rain hat on the bedpost. Following me out, he shut the door behind himself silently. We both walked down the hall in silence, heading back towards the kitchen. I walked briskly past Demo and Soldier, who were having a drink, and continued onward towards the door that led to the respawn room.  
Admittedly, I wasn’t looking forward to this one, Not that I looked forward to any of the tour. The respawn room, despite how inviting it may sound, is not inviting at all. It usually smelled like vomit and sweat, and sometimes had blood stains from when a stray bullet got in. You’re technically not allowed to shoot into spawn, but an angry scout is an angry scout.  
I opened the door, letting him inside the metal room. Lockers lined one side of the room, full of the team's active equipment and ammo. There was a trashcan in the corner marked “Biohazard” Since medic got sick of cleaning the floors. Normally there would be an ominous hum coming from the respawn machine down below, but now it was eerily quiet, aside from our footsteps. 

“So this…” He paused. “This is the respawn room yes?”  
“Yes it is.” I said flatly.

I wanted to show him the battlefield, but we aren’t allowed on the grounds outside of battle, mostly to stop people from killing each other outside of battle. Going to be really hard to train him with bullets flying around. I really hope he knows how to use his invisa-watch thing.  
Maybe that’s what happened. He was snooping around the grounds after battle and then got shot. Would explain why he didn’t tell us. Although if that happened the Admin would’ve torn us a new one, since it would’ve been breaking one of her precious rules. Poor Miss Pauling would’ve had to deliver the news of Spook’s stupidity.  
I glanced over at the new spy. He was standing in front of the door leading to the battlefield, hands clasped behind his back and foot tapping to an unseen beat. I couldn’t see his face from where I was standing, but he seemed a little nervous.

“Sniper,” He suddenly said. “Our first battle is tomorrow, yes?”  
“Yes.” I responded. “Well it'll be your first battle. Sorry ya don’t have much time to get used to things mate.”  
“It’s fine.” He said, turning around and flashing a smile. “I’ll just have to learn.”

His smile seemed fake somehow. Couldn’t quite point out why, but it definitely looked fake.

“Well, that’s the end of the tour.” I said. “Guess you could have Scout show you the ropes?”  
“Thank you.” He responded. “I’ll look into letting the scout help me tomorrow.”

I led him back to the kitchen for lunch. This time it was Pyro cooking lunch. Guess Scout was “Busy,” and didn’t want to cook today. As a result, Pyro decided to step up. Whatever Pyro made had been charred beyond recognition, and was probably not edible. Poor guy loved making food, but his love of fires always gets the better of him.  
Pyro seemed excited about whatever he cooked though, and gave a large piece of...whatever it was he made...to the new spy.

“Er...thank you?” the spy said, as politely as possible.  
“Hrrmph!” Pyro said, gleefully awaiting the first bite.

The poor spy took a look at the charred mess in front of him, looked up at Pyro’s face, and took a small bite. I grimaced once he tried chewing.

“Very...complex!” He managed to say between trying not to gag. 

He put on a fake smile for pyro, giving a shaky thumbs up before forcing himself to swallow. Pyro practically squealed in joy before running off to brag to the others about his wonderful cooking skills. The spy still didn’t seem too thrilled about having to eat the rest of it.

“Ya don’t have to eat the rest mate.” I whispered to him.  
“Thank God.” He said, dumping the rest in the garbage and burying it under some paper.  
“Why’s ya eat it mate?” I said, grabbing some things from the fridge to make a sandwich.  
“I didn’t want to appear rude.” He said.  
“Fair enough”

I handed him a bologna sandwich, which he happily took a bite out of. Not really sure why I expected anything different though. Guess I was used to Spook being too snooty for bologna.  
We finished our food. I told him that the paper bag in the back was for Heavy only, and then continued the tour of the base. Specifically the bathrooms. Probably should’ve told him where those were first, but whatever.

“Here are the bathrooms mate.” I said, walking him to the room. “It’s where we take showers and things like that. You gotta use your own shampoo though.”  
“I see…” He said, examining the white-tiled room. “What are the jars for?”  
“Me.” I said, embarrassed. “I...uh...have a condition.”

He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question further. I practically dragged him out of the bathroom and back to the kitchen, where Demo and Soldier were playing poker.

“That’s the end of the tour mate. If ya have any questions ya can ask-”  
“ME!”

Soldier practically jumped up, walking over to the spy. 

“ARE YOU READY FOR TRAINING MAGGOT?”  
“Perhaps?” the spy responded, still not entirely sure.

Honestly, Soldier probably would have grabbed his hand even if he said no. The poor spy was dragged down the hall and out into the training ground that I forgot to tell him about. Soldier was ecstatic to have an actual, willing trainee, yelling about how he was going to turn the new spy into “the best soldier there ever was.” The spy was either too polite or too scared to say no.

“He’s gonna need a drink later on” Demo said, looking concerned. He and Soldier were friends, sure, but even he would admit that Soldier could be a bit much at times.  
“Ya think?” I said, sitting down at the table for a drink of my own. Demo poured me some scrumpy.  
“Aye.” He said, taking a swig from the bottle. “A big one. Think he likes scrumpy?”

I shrugged, not really having an answer. We both played some poker for a while, occasionally interrupted by a loud boom and yelling from soldier.  
In the evening, Soldier came back inside, followed by an exhausted looking spy. The spy sat down at the table, suit ruffled, and looking mighty sore.

“What did ya DO to the poor guy mate?” Demo asked, sliding the spy a glass of scrumpy. He took a sip from it.  
“I TAUGHT HIM HOW TO ROCKET-JUMP!” Soldier bellowed proudly.  
“I couldn’t lift the rocket-launcher.” the spy mumbled, half disappointed in himself and half-relieved.  
“WE SOARED LIKE AN EAGLE”  
“Yes.” was the spy’s only response. He took another sip from his glass.

We played in relative silence. Turns out the new spy sucks at poker. Or he was too tired. Didn’t really matter, since we didn’t bet anything. Spook used to cheat all the time at poker, although the new spy didn’t seem like the sort that would. Then again he is a spy…  
After a few games I got up, stretching... I was tired.

“Think I’m gonna turn in mates.” I said, yawning.  
“GOODNIGHT SNIPER” Soldier yelled. The spy leaned away from him.  
“G’night mate.” demo said, grinning.

The spy just waved as I left the room and headed to my camper. Once I was there, I took off my clothing and flopped into bed. Tomorrow was going to be a blazing pain in the neck. I know for a fact the heavy on the other team is going to be a real pain in the arse to deal with.  
I guess it was a good thing that we didn’t lose anyone who would be on the front lines. Imagine if we lost Scout or Medic. Or...me.

I rolled over, still worrying. Maybe after the battle tomorrow I can ask if the new spy knows anything that happened. Maybe he does.


	5. The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with the new spy begins, and sniper gains some insight.

I woke up to the same bloody annoying alarm. Rolling over, I turned the thing off and sat up on the bed, trying blinking the tiredness from my eyes. Yawning and stretching, I grabbed some clean clothes and put them on, heading out the door afterwards.  
Walking down the hallway, I could hear the chatter of the kitchen. It was mostly Scout, who’s volume was only outmatched by Soldier. Unfortunately he still took the cake for the most bloody annoying thing in the world at eight in the morning.

“So when ya approchin’ the enemy heavy, ya gotta aim for the head! Ya know? So you could knock em’ outta the- oh hey Sniper!” Scout said. 

He was being awfully cheery this morning. Bugger usually isn’t even usually awake this early in the morning, and if he is he’s usually complaining about it. Engie probably had something to do with it. I grumbled out a “hello” and sat down at the table, still trying to wake up.

“ ‘Ello Sniper” The spy said. He was actually cooking breakfast, even though it was normally Scout’s turn on wednesdays.  
“Hello.” I responded.

The spy put a plate of fried eggs and bacon, along with some coffee. in front of me and Scout. Scout dug in immediately. Spy prepared his own plate and sat down at the table, cutting into an egg with a fork and knife. Scout just stabbed the egg and shoved the whole thing in his mouth.

“I would have made toast but I...couldn't find the bread.” Spy said apologetically.

I guess Heavy took some extra precautions this morning. That or Soldier claimed the bread for his raccoons.

“...Scout isn’t it your turn to make breakfast this morning?” I Said, annoyed. 

It hasn’t been the first time he ignored his breakfast duties. Usually it just ends up in pyro cooking. Or soldier, depending on if Scout can convince him the date on the calendar was wrong. Again. 

“Uh...I forgot…” He said, trying to avoid eye contact.  
“You forgot?” I said, raising an eyebrow. I would’ve said more if breakfast hadn't already been cooked and plated.  
“It’s alright,” the spy said. “It’s just breakfast.”  
“He does this all the time,” I grumbled, digging into my food. “He managed to convince Soldier it was the fourth of July just to avoid making dinner.”

The spy winced, probably imagining the noise and ruckas that particular day would cause.

“Yes that does seem ...problematic…”  
“It wasn’t that bad guys!” Scout said in between mouthfuls of food.

I Shot him an annoyed look, finally digging into the food myself. It was fine. Just your average chewy bacon and slightly under-cooked eggs. Engie walked in, looking pleased.

“Did Scout make breakfast for once?” He said, a bit too cheerful.  
“Ye-”  
“No. The spy did.” I grumbled.  
“Now Scout when i said ‘show him the ropes’ I didn’t mean make him do stuff for ya!” Engie said, pinching his nose.  
“But it was sooooo early!” Scout whined. “Beside he’s a spy so he’s probably used to getting up at the ass-crack of dawn-”  
“That doesn’t mean ya get to shirk your work son!” Engie said. “It’s called being courteous!”

They continued back and forth. Spy just seemed a bit uncomfortable and confused, silently drinking his coffee and eating his food.

“What day did your spy normally cook breakfast?” He whispered, leaning over so I could hear over the chatter of the other two.

“He usually helped Pyro cook since...ya know...” I answered, whispering as well. He nodded in understanding and resumed eating, listening to the two argue. Medic poked his head through the door, looking excited, and motioned for Engie to follow him. They both went down the hall towards the respawn room.

“At least they’re in a good mood ?” Scout asked, concerned.

I didn’t really respond. Usually when Medic was happy like that was because he got a new deal on organs. Spy cast a glance of questioning at me. I didn’t have any answers, other than a shrug. We finished breakfast, with Scout continuing to give the spy some half-decent but obvious hints.

“Maybe I can teach ya how to run real fast later on eh?”  
“I suppose that could be alright…” Spy said. He seemed a bit more reluctant to accept his offer this time around.

As usual the next few hours went by fairly quickly. Everyone, including Medic and Engie had prepared their equipment. Oddly, the spy didn’t have any sort of disguise kit. Just the invisi-watch. His knife was similar to Spook’s though, just a butterfly knife, without Spook’s fancy carvings on the handle. Actually his invisi-watch was much simpilar too. Guess he wasn’t the fancy type.  
We all waited for the door too open. Everyone was silent and tense, even Scout and Soldier. Scout was chewing on some bubble gum, while everyone else was doing one last check of their weapons. Engie and Medic were whispering to each other.  
I checked mine. Sniper rifle and kukri. Both were loaded and sharpened, ready for a fight. While I was checking though, something on the floor popped out to me. One of the metal plates was jostled, just slightly raised above the rest. It had been tampered with.  
Somebody tampered with the respawn.  
My throat tightened. It was intentional. Was it going to happen again? Who was going to fail to respawn? I didn’t get any answers from myself. Maybe I could just escape somehow? Finally get out of this bloody hell-hole and go back home to my parents. Maybe even become a farmer or something.  
A hand on my shoulder broke me out of my racing thoughts. I was all sweaty, and didn’t immediately recognize the hand on my shoulder. Thankfully it turned out to be the spy. He was silent for a moment. Turns out the timer had been counting down without me realizing.

“Three” The Admin said over the intercom, voice as cold as usual.  
“Sniper?” He whispered.

I didn’t respawn. I couldn’t at the moment. My throat wouldn’t loosen up.

“Two”  
“Are you alright?”

I looked over at him. He let go of my shoulder.

“One”

I hesitated, then nodded. He didn’t believe me, at all. He was going to say something else when the Admin interrupted me.

“Zero”

The gates opened. Everybody rushed out, including me and the spy. He stopped, looked around, then went down one of the backways. I decided to go to one of my perches. Maybe I can take my mind off the respawn thing.  
Didn’t work. I’m sure I was shooting some of the team, but my brain didn't register it. I still kept thinking of the stupid respawn machine. Maybe the tile was always like that? Maybe it was Medic and Engie looking for answers? They’re not allowed to tamper with the respawn at all. I think it was in their contracts actually. Then again Medic technically isn’t allowed to buy organs from the black market but he does that anyway.  
I sighed. Maybe it was just a freak accident, rather than foul play. Maybe I’m just overly paranoid.  
I heard a beep. Maybe I wasn’t paranoid enough.  
Turns out the enemy Demo managed to get a sticky bomb to stick right below my perch. It detonated, and I fell out of the building and onto the ground, bloody and missing my weapons. Grumbling and cursing, I managed to get to my feet. I found my kukri wedged into the ground, but my rifle was nowhere in sight. Bugger. At least when you die your weapon goes with you.  
Using the wall for support, I managed to Move away from the wreckage of the building. Unfortunately, my path brought me face-to-face with the enemy spy.

“Ah! Sniper, my old friend!” He said, taunting.  
“Go to hell you bloody, backstabbing snake!” I spat. I was not in the mood for the bastard to mock me right now.  
“I’ll meet you th-” He paused, looking around and taking out his knife.  
“Oh? Seems your friend took a break from the disguises”

I heard soft, silent footsteps. Couldn’t quite tell where they were coming from however, given the rumble of the battle nearby. Suddenly, the enemy Spy whirled around, plunging a knife into the throat of our spy.

“Ha! Nice try” The enemy Spy laughed.  
The blue spy crumpled to the ground, blood pooling around him. His body disintegrated in a few seconds, leaving only blood behind. The Red spy gave me a side-glare, then shot me dead in the forehead, probably sick of this encounter..  
I woke up in a cold sweat in the respawn room, gasping for air and feeling very nauseous. At least my rifle was back, laying on the ground next to me.  
Spy was next to me, looking pale. His hands were shaking as he reached up to feel where he was stabbed.

“I-Incredible…” He whispered to himself, rubbing his neck.

He shook his head, then looked over at me. He walked over and offered a hand.

“Sorry.” He said, helping me up.  
“It’s fine mate. Not much you could’ve done.”

We both glanced at the doorway. There wasn’t a whole lot of time left in the battle anyway. Only a few seconds. Not enough time to really get back to where we were anyway. 

“Are you new to being a spy?” I asked. I honestly couldn’t tell.  
“...No…” He said quietly. “I’m not new to being a spy, but I am new to...this”

He gestured to the battlegrounds.

“Normally, my targets wouldn’t know I’m here at all…” He said, still looking a bit shaken. “And I usually wouldn’t have any missiles after me.”  
“Oh.” Was all I could say. At least he had some experience in being a spy?

The battle ended shortly after. We managed to get the briefcase back to the base, thanks to some teamwork from Scout and Soldier. Apparently the new spy wasn’t as bad as everybody thought. He managed to get the RED Heavy and Sniper.  
After everyone showered, Scout decided to make up for making Spy cook breakfast by making dinner for everyone. It was just hotdogs, but still technically counted as cooking. Everyone was chatting with each other, aside from Medic and Engie. They were in the lab doing who knows what.  
I grumbled. These people were really starting to get on my nerves. Not on purpose, but they were all starting to get really loud because Demo thought it would be a wonderful Idea to get Scout and Soldier drunk at the same time. Heavy eventually had enough and just went to the lab. Maybe I could just go back to my camper.  
I got up, waving goodbye to everyone and heading to my camper. It was a lot quieter there. Less drunk people yelling about America. I layed down on my bed, not tired enough to really sleep, but too tired to do anything else.  
The floor plate was still bothering me. Thankfully the respawn didn’t malfunction this time, but if something was being tampered with-  
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I swear if it’s Scout wanting to play baseball I’m going to murder him. Thankfully and surprisingly it turned out to be Spy.

“ ‘Ello Sniper.” He said. “May I come in?”

I blinked. Why does he want to come in? Did the others start to bother him too? Maybe the running training with Scout got him too tired to reach his room. Either way, I wasn't going to let the poor bugger stay out here all night.

“Sure?” I said, still confused. I stepped aside to let him in.

He looked around. The camper wasn’t meant for two people, so it was a bit cramped. It also smelled a little bit like piss.

“...Cozy…” He said, trying to be as polite.  
“So what brings you here mate? Scout bug ya?”  
“No. Well, yes...but that’s not why I came here specifically.”

He seemed a bit out of it.

“Do you know what happened to the previous spy?”

That’s why he came here. Made sense. I’d be scared if I replaced a Sniper that died mysteriously.

“The respawn malfunctioned,” I said. He didn’t seem satisfied with the answer.  
“Is...that all? It just...stopped working for a moment?”

I opened my mouth, but then closed it, nodding.

“Yea. It just...stopped.” I said, not really sure what he was going for.

He stood in silence, tapping his foot and thinking hard. Something was eating him up inside too.

“Was it intentional?” He asked.

Now he’s starting to interrogate me. Great. I decided to give him my honest answer.

“I don’t know mate.”

He examined my face. After a few moments of tension he sighed, looking away.

“...Thank you. For answering.”

Not sure why he would thank me for giving him answers. I guess he was surprised he didn’t have to tourture me or something. He was about to leave when there was a knock at the door. We both stared a moment in confusion. Was it Pyro? He sometimes came out here to chat. At least i think it’s a chat. He cautiously opened the door, readying his butterfly knife. It was Engie, of all people, looking a bit out of breath and grinning like a maniac.

“...Engineer?” Spy said, confused. He put his knife away.  
“Spy? Sniper? I need ya both to come to the Clinic. Now.”

That wasn’t an ask. That was a command. Me and Spy exchanged a concerned glance. What could be so serious that we needed to go now? We didn’t question Engie, since he was usually pretty reasonable.  
Engie led us to the clinic, where Medic and Heavy were waiting. The clinic was still full of needles and other sharp objects.

“Ya needed us?” I asked, half-scared and half-curious. Mostly scared  
“Yes!” Medic said enthusiastically. “You know how the respawn supposedly malfunctioned?”

Me and Spy exchanged confused looks. Medic walked over to a small computer screen and ushered us over. On the monitor wawere lines upon lines of text that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

“This is the respawn record.” Medic said. “Engie got it before the battle earlier.”  
“Is that why the plate was off?” I quickly asked.  
“Yes. Sorry, I thought I put it back correctly.” Engie said, now sounding a bit disappointed.

Relief washed over me. So the Admin didn’t send anyone to screw with the machine. It was just Engie and Medic. Although that didn’t answer where Spook went.

“It’s not updated for today’s battle,” Medic continued. “But there is something strange...see?”

He pointed at a line of text. It just said “BLU Spy spawned Correctly,” just like the lines before it. Spy perked up a bit next to me.

“...So?” I asked, still confused.  
“So…” Engie continued. “That line there is from the battle Spy disappeared in.”

Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. He was alive. Spook was alive.

“So he’s-” I sputtered out, now excited.  
“Yes!” Medic said enthusiastically. “He’s alive.”  
“Hold yer horses now” Engie interrupted. “If respawn malfunctioned it could have very well have recorded the wrong message.”

My heart sank. Maybe he was still dead after all. Spy grimaced.

“I see.” Spy said solemnly.  
“However,” Medic said “He could still be alive, yes?”

Not sure if he was trying to cheer me up or not. It wasn’t working. I started to head back to the camper. I’ve heard enough.

“Before you guys leave…” Engie said, his voice dropping low.

Guess I didn’t. I turned around to look at Engie.

“I would recommend you keep this to yourselves. I suspect there’s been some foul play at hand, and I'd rather not let her find out you two know. Got it?.”

He gestured at one of the intercoms. Medic and Engie disabled the ones in their lab, but the message was clear. We nodded, slinking out of the room.

“HoldHold Spy!” Engie said, grabbing Spy”s arm.  
“W-what?” Spy said, looking started.

He looked more surprised than anything, probably because Engie had grabbed him with his robot arm. He tries not to, ever since he crushed Medic’s arm that one time, but he sometimes slips up. Engie quickly switched to his other hand after realizing.

“Doc wanted to give you your check-up.” Engie said, trying to give him a reassuring smile.  
“Y-Your arm is metal??” Spy asked.

I backed out of the room slowly, giving spy a thumbs up before closing the clinic doors behind me. Medic’s First “Check-up” Includes getting the Uber-Charge thing implanted, even if we’re never going to use it, and I really don’t want to see the inside of Spy’s ribcage.

I decided to head back to my camper again. It was getting late. Maybe some early sleep would be good for me.


	6. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sniper and the new spy find out what happened to spy.

“Go to sleep,” I said. “It’ll be good for me,” I said. Well I’m still not asleep. No surprise I’m having trouble sleeping again, but it’s still annoying.  
Spook could be alive. He could be alive, and possibly looking for a way back. He could be dead as well, buried in some unmarked grave somewhere but the fact that he could be alive is enough to make me want to look for him. Maybe I can use a holiday to go look for him? I’d have to keep it a secret from the others though. Don’t want to attract attention.  
Does he even want to be found? That’s...something I can’t answer. There’s still a large possibility he wanted to be seen as dead. Maybe some old enemies of his were starting to close in. Although I don’t think the Admin would let anyone hurt her precious chess pieces.   
He could also be dead. The respawn could’ve failed like we all thought originally. That or Spy is dead somewhere, bleeding out from a bullet wound. Unfortunately, that might be the most likely option.  
I rolled over, rubbing my face and sitting up on my bed. Glancing over at the clock. I read the time. 1:00am. Bugger. Maybe I could try drinking myself to sleep-!  
I whirled around. Someone was rhythmically pounding at my door. What bastard is awake at this time? Medic? He and Engie are the only ones usually awake at this time. I swear to god if it’s Scout pulling some stupid prank.  
I opened. Soldier was standing there, with his rocket launcher and battle attire. Of all the people I expected to be awake at this time, Soldier wasn’t it. I guess he couldn’t sleep either. Was he doing one of his stupid training sessions again.

“HELLO SNIPER!” He bellowed, way too loudly for this ungodly time of night.

God he was loud. How have his vocal cords not broken or something.

“Whattya want?” I growled. It came out a bit harsher than intended. 

Why was this bloke awake this early? Better be important, or I might punch him in the jaw.

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRAIN” He said with a big, goofy grin.

I stared at him in disbelief. It was ONE in the morning and he wanted to do training. This bloke I swear to God-

“Why don’t you go ask Demo?” I grumbled, preparing to close the door.  
“HE IS TOO DRUNK.” Soldier said bluntly. 

“Too drunk,” He says. Guess Demo couldn’t even stand up, since intoxication never stopped them before. I was really starting to get irritated. I know I probably wouldn’t have fallen asleep anyway, but this is still too much noise. Why can't he just go bother somebody else?!

“Go ask the spy.” I said.

“HE IS RECOVERING FROM SURGERY AND NOT FIT FOR TRAINING!”  
“That hasn't stopped you before,” I grumbled.

Guess he asked already. He never asked Spook to train with him. Then again the one time he did Spook said no and then disappeared the rest of the day. Can’t blame him. The new spy’s the only guy who said yes I suppose.  
Soldier did have a point though. The Uber-charge thing was a pretty intensive surgery If i remember mine correctly, even with the Medi-Gun healing you after.   
I looked at the clock, then at Soldier’s face. He had a sort of genuine, naïve smile on his face, like I would actually say yes. I swear his head is ninety percent lead. I glanced at the clock again, then sighed.

“Fine.” I mumbled. “But we have to keep quiet,” I said, emphasizing the “quiet” part.

Soldier nodded excitedly. I stepped outside the camper, grabbing my hat and closing the camper door behind me. Solider then grabbed my arm, and practically dragged me to the training area. I tried to escape his grasp a few times, but the man had an iron grip.  
Once we got to the training area though, he let go, taking his rocket launcher out of it’s sling.

“I AM GOING TO TEACH YOU HOW TO ROCKET JUMP!”  
“Soldier, we need to be quiet. The others are sleeping.”

Soldier was about to protest, but then he shut his mouth and silently nodded. He put his launcher away, thinking hard for once. I can’t really be the judge, given that my brain is currently producing nothing at the moment.  
There was a soft footstep. Me and Soldier both perked up, him taking out his rocket launcher and me taking out my pocket knife. Spook gave it to me as a gift for Smissmass one year. Guess it might come in handy today. 

“SHOW YOURSELF COWARD!” Soldier screamed, rearing for a fight.

Thankfully, it just turned out to be spy. He walked to us.

“HELLO SPY!” Soldier said, putting his launcher away.

Spy didn’t look nearly as cheerful as Soldier did though. In fact, he looked pretty sleep-deprived and stressed out. He was out of breath by the time he go to us.

“ ‘Ello Soldier.” He said, stopping in front of the two of us.  
“...Are ya okay?” I asked. He honestly looked pretty jumpy about something.  
“Did your old spy have red hair??”

What kind of question was that? No, he didn’t. Otherwise he probably would’ve bragged about it to everyone. NO, he had ash colored hair if I remember him telling me. He also had more grey than he would like to admit. Man I miss the bloke.

“No…? Why?” I asked, now even more worried.

Soldier looked a bit worried himself.

“Does anyone on this team have red hair?” He asked, a bit more frantically.  
“NEGATIVE!” Soldier said, hoping his answer would help Spy a bit.  
“No. Sorry mate.”

He didn’t like that answer. At all. Soldier shifted uncomfortably. Spy tapped his foot, thinking for a minute before getting a concerned look on his face.

“Nobody? Not even Pyro? Engineer?” He said.  
“Engie’s bald, and Pyro has black hair from what Medic told me,” I said. “Red hair ain’t exactly common ya know.”  
“I...I know.” He said.

He took a step back, sighing.

“Thank you both for...helping.”

He thought for a moment, tapping his feet on the gravel below us. Soldier just looked between us, concerned.

“Sniper? Can I borrow some of your time?” He asked.  
“Sure Mate.”  
“WHAT ABOUT ME?” Soldier yelled. I’m surprised nobody else was awake by this point.  
“Ah...yes you...I actually have an important job for you to do.”

Soldier perked up at Spy’s words. Spy suddenly didn’t seem as anxious. He seemed a bit more stern, and a bit more contemplative about his word choices.

“WHAT IS IT?” He asked, loudly.  
“I need you...to go to bed.”  
“I AM NOT TIRED”  
“No...but if something happens you want to be well rested, yes?”

Soldier nodded, still not entirely onboard but seeing Spy’s reasoning. He then saluted, and headed back to wherever he sleeps. Spy then turned to me, looking a bit frantic again.

“...Spy what’s got ya all...puffed up?” I asked.

He thought for a moment, looking at me, then the building, then back at me.

“I..Well I suppose it would be easier to show you.” He said, heading towards the base.

I followed him to the building. He silently opened the door to the base and closed it behind us without making a sound. He led me down the halls.

“I...have some more questions.” He whispered, slowing down his walking speed.  
“Shoot mate.” I said.  
“What was your spy like?” He asked.  
“What?” I asked, blinking. Why does he need to know that?  
“What were his mannerisms? Personality?” He said, still walking at a slowed pace.

I thought for a moment. What did I know about Spook? Not much.

“Well…” I said. “He was snobby, secretive. Always wore a mask and always smelled like perfume. Kinda prickly when ya first...actually he was always a bit of an asshole.”

I miss him even more now.

“Despite that, he was kinda nice when ya really saw what he did.” I continued. “His gifts usually meant something and wasn’t just a stupid mug.”

Scout wasn’t very good at gift-giving. He gave me a mug, Spook gave me a pocket knife with a serrated edge.  
Spy just kinda looked surprised. Probably told him a bit much.

“I see.” Spy said. “Anything...else?”

I thought for a few moments.

“He was a germaphobe?” I added. Not really. But he did keep himself clean.  
“He kept his laundry clean?”

I nodded. Eventually we reached Spy’s room. It hadn’t really changed much. Still bare, with the same bed with the same, now dry, rain hat on the post. Kinda sad honestly.  
Spy put his briefcase on the bed, rummaging through it. Most of what was inside was clean clothing, a few different kinds of knives, masks, and a spare invisi-watch.   
He pulled a plastic baggie, holding it up so I could see it. It had a few, short, red hair strands in it.

“This was found in this room tonight.” He said matter-of-factly. “None of your teammates have red hair, nor have we interacted with anyone who has had red hair.”

I stood there. I’m still not entirely sure why this mattered.

“Well,” he said. “Unless the RED team has someone with red hair, but I didn’t see anyone with red hair. Those who would’ve had red hair would have not shed it as much.”

He was pacing the room as he talked, still all puffy and anxious. It still didn’t really make too much sense, but I didn’t like where it was going.

“He could’ve gotten it from a guy on one of his missions.” I said. Didn’t calm him down though.  
“You said he cleaned himself regularly. I’d...assume that would extend to his clothing as well.” He answered. 

There goes that idea. He paced the room again, stopping near the bed.

“...I believe I know where the Hair came from. Specifically...who it came from.” he said, staring at the baggie.

He put the baggie back into the suitcase, then closed it. He put the suitcase on the opposite side of the room, along with his rain hat.

“I believe someone may have kidnapped your spy,'' he said.

My stomach dropped. Kidnapped. Not dead, but kidnapped. Maybe he is dead after all. Or being tortured for information.

“Who?!” I practically demanded.  
“Clauden.” He said flatly.  
“...Who?” I asked.

He sounded familiar. I think I’ve heard his name before...from way back before I joined the BLU Team. He was an australium tycoon I think. Thought he died in an explosion in one of his mines.

“Clauden…” he said, thinking. “Is a tycoon, currently owning a portion of the world’s remaining australium reserves. He’s known for his cruelty, although he usually doesn’t do the dirty work himself…” He trailed off, still looking a bit uneasy.

“So ya think he took Spy?” I asked.

He nodded, wincing.

“I’m not entirely sure why he would be targeted however.”  
“Then how do ya know it’s him?” I asked. Could’ve been anyone with red hair.

He looked at me, then motioned to the bed, grabbing one side. I helped him tip it over so he wouldn’t make too much noise. With a grunt, the bed was on it’s side.  
The belly side of the bed had an enormous claw mark running across the ribs of the bottom. Surprised it could hold up with that.

“He always leaves a mark behind...as a warning, I suppose.” He said, staring at the underside with a grimace.

We both stood in silence for a while. The dim light from the ceiling fan wasn’t helping the sickening feeling I felt in my stomach. We both just kinda stared at the gash in the wood. After a while, we flipped it back over in silence. Funny, if ya just looked at it, ya wouldn’t know there was any sort of damage underneath.

“I’m going to need a new bed.” He said, sighing.  
“Yep.”

More silence. I could tell he was thinking.

“I want to help you.” He said quietly.  
“What?”

He turned to me, and put his hand on my shoulder.

“I want to help you find your spy.” He said, a bit louder this time.  
“Why?” I said. 

I was going to go look for Spook anyway, but the fact he wanted to help surprised me. Plus he might be replaced if Spook comes back. Guess he knows that though.  
He didn’t respond right away. He just sort of stood there, staring at me and slowly taking his hand off of my shoulder. He thought for a while longer, glancing at the door.

“Clauden isn’t known for his...gentle hand.” He said, voice low. “I’d rather prevent unnecessary suffering.”  
I nodded. Don’t really believe that answer, but I guess it’ll work. Guess I should be glad someone who knows the guy wants to help.

“We can’t leave tomorrow though.” He said suddenly. “There’s a battle. Our team won’t be able to function without two of its members.”  
“Plus the Admin’d be mad.” I said.

We spoke for a while, deciding that this weekend would be the best bet, since we don’t battle on the weekends, and we have a holiday I never celebrated on Monday. Think it’s President’s day? At least I won’t have to deal with Soldier’s patriotic screaming.  
My camper was the chosen vehicle, sing Engie would notice if his truck was gone.

“What about the team?” I asked.  
“We can tell them we’re going to see family?”

I guess that would work. Heavy usually spends Smissmas with his family, and Spy used to go “visit” Scout’s mother, or go on a mission. Heard she was nice from the few times he actually told me anything about it.  
We both nodded in agreement. We had a semblance of a plan. Problem is we would have to wait. Hopefully Spook can hold on long enough for us to find him.


	7. Road Trip

Saturday somehow came too fast and not nearly fast enough. I tried to fall asleep on Friday, but couldn’t. Too many nerves.  
Now I'm awake at the crack of dawn, having just stared at the ceiling of my camper for eight hours straight. A million things rattle around in my head like an angry hornet.. What if Spook’s already dead? What if we come back late and the Admin found out about our little mission? What’ll we do with the new spy if we manage to get Spook back? I didn’t have any answers. I don’t think Spy did either.  
I pushed myself up off of my bed, still exhausted. We’re supposed to leave today around noon. We’d already told everyone that we were going to see family. Surprisingly everyone bought it, aside from Soldier for some weird reason. Then again, I don’t think he has any family to visit. Guess he’s just not used to it. Or he’s just so far gone that he can’t imagine why people wouldn’t want to visit family rather than train.  
I headed towards the kitchen, hoping nobody else was awake other than the spy. Unfortunately, Soldier was awake, and in the kitchen with Spy, eating some spam out of a can. He perked up once I walked in.

“GOOD MORNING SNIPER!” He bellowed, grinning.

Spy just waved, also eating a can of spam. I guess he was too tired to cook. That, or Soldier offered him a can and he was too polite to refuse.  
I rummaged through the cabinet. Bonk, bubblegum, bread, and some sort of soup mix was all that was up here. Deciding toast would be okay, I put a piece of stale bread from the back of the pantry in the toaster, taking out some possibly expired grape jam from the fridge. We need to start buying more food when we go grocery shopping.

“DO YOU WANT SPAM?” Soldier asked.  
“No thanks.” I grumbled back. I’m so bloody tired.

I ate the half-burnt toast quickly. Probably a little too quickly, but It didn’t matter. I headed to my camper. Most of the stuff I needed was in the camper already. I just had to grab my rifle and ammo. Turning to my bed, I could see my ammo and rifle was already there. Guess Spy wanted to be helpful. Spy still was nowhere to be seen. Maybe I should go find him- no wait, that’s him there.  
Spy walked up to the passenger side of my camper. He looked a little sleep-deprived too, with bags that could carry a boulder under his eyes. I unlocked the door for him, and got in, sitting down.

“ ‘Ello sniper.” He said, forcing a polite grin onto his face.  
“Mornin’” I said “Ya look terrible mate.”  
“As do you.”

I probably did look a little off. Medic said something yesterday about sleep. Didn’t really listen though. Probably should’ve, since he’s supposedly a doctor, and knows about doctor stuff.  
Spy looked around the driving section of the camper. It was a beat-up old thing, held together by duct tape and rusted screws. The seats used to have some sorta leather on them, but it’s been sun-bleached and dried so badly that all that’s left is the felt that was underneath and a few measly scraps of leather. The whole thing also smelled of sweat and piss. I changed the oil on it yesterday though, so that should be fine. Plus the seatbelts still kinda worked, so it was safe. Don’t know about the airbags. Actually i’m not even sure it had airbags to begin with.

“...Cozy…” He said.

He was trying to be polite. He looked so uncomfortable sitting in the passenger seat, shifting and trying to touch as little of the seat as possible without looking too ridiculous. He didn’t seem as grossed out as Spook did though. He insultingly called it a “New York Style public restroom.” Bastard. Then again I called his room “Fairly land” so I guess it’s even. Don’t know why they’re complaining though, it’s honestly not that bad! Buncha’ wankers is what they are.  
I did one last final check to see if we had everything we needed. Ammo? Check. Canned food? Check. Now we just gotta find out where this guy is.

“Alright, we got everything. So where is this guy anyway?”

He looked at me in silence, a slight realization hitting him. He had no idea where the guy was. Of course he doesn’t. Then again, I have no idea where the guy is either.

“Ya have no idea do ya?” I said, slightly exasperated.  
“It...slipped my mind.” he mumbled, half embarrassed and half disappointed.

We both sat in the cabin, thinking. If I was an australium tycoon, where would I hide? A basement?

“New York?” I asked.

It made sense, although it seemed a bit counter-productive. There’s way too many people. Then again he’d be able to hide pretty well. New Yorkers are weird anyway. He’d probably fit right in.

“...No.” He said. “Too many people would know him there.”

I nodded. Thinking again, I did remember an old building to the north of here. Used to be a headquarters for a small mining business. Never really explored it since it was abandoned and as sturdy as wet paper, but someone could hide there easily if they didn’t mind the questionable construction. And the rats.

“Ya know there’s an old building to the north.” I said. “ Used to be a mining business. It’s a little bit past that little town there. It’s far, but a good spot to hide if ya want to hide.”

He thought for a while, tapping the carpet of the cabin with his foot.

“Yes.” He finally said. “He could very well be there.  
“Alright. We can try there.”

It would take a whole day to get there, so we should probably start driving. I started the engine, driving through the open gates that lead to the road. Miles of desert stretched in front of us. I’d enjoy it if I wasn’t so damn tired. The road in front of me was like a long black snake wriggling its way through the baked dirt of the desert. It was kinda nice actually.   
I’m starting to feel the effects of sleep loss. The edges of my vision started to darken, and my eyelids felt so heavy. Maybe I could just close them for a moment.

“Sniper please wake up!”

The frantic shout from Spy snapped me awake. I had fallen asleep at the wheel. Damnit! I jerked, grabbing the wheel, only to find Spy already had his hand on it. Turns out he’d been driving from the passenger seat, using his hand to turn the wheel. He couldn’t reach the brakes, although mustive tried, given his contorted seating position.  
He was relieved once I regained control of the camper, releasing the wheel and fixing his position.

“Sorry mate.” I said, still dazed.  
“It’s...alright.” He said, still a bit frazzled. “Just...please don’t do that again.”

I nodded. Maybe we should stop in the town and get some coffee. Problem was we still had a few hours until we reached the town, and my eyes were starting to feel heavy again. Maybe I could keep myself awake?  
I looked over at Spy. He was still more than a touch anxious, sitting with his hands clasped in his lap and his eyes glued on the road ahead of us. Guess the whole trip has him on edge.  
I’m still not entirely sure why he decided to come with me. He’s clearly not doing it for fun, and his whole “Wanting to prevent unnecessary suffering” sounds like a lie. Then again, maybe it was his reasoning, given how genuine he seems.  
Maybe he’s actually in kahoots with Clauden? Would explain why he knows so much about the guy. He may just be leading me to the trap, although I don’t really know why he would want to get rid of me. I only know about Clauden from the newspaper. This guy knows him personally.  
Maybe he wants revenge? He doesn’t seem too vengeful though. More anxious than anything. Guess I could just ask.

“So why are ya really helping me mate?” I finally asked.

Spy looked over at me, slightly surprised.

“I’ve told you already.” He said.  
“Yea,” I said. “I’m not an idiot. What's your real reason for wantin’ to help me?”

He thought for a moment, staring at me, then the road.  
“I want to fix a mistake I made.” He finally said, sighing.  
“A Mistake?” I said.  
“Yes.” He said.

I waited for him to answer. He looked like he was thinking, hard. It struck me that he probably didn’t trust me all that much either. More than the rest of the team, but probably not enough to be prying into what looked like quite the event. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut-

“A while ago, I...acquired a mission to assassinate Clauden.” He said. “It was my first...big mission, and I admittedly wasn’t as...skilled as I am now.”

Ah. That’s where he knows Clauden from. A mission. Judging from his expression, it was a sore spot for him.

“The mission went sour.” He said, wincing a bit. “I had to resort to...using explosives in an attempt to finish the missions. It was a mess…” 

That made a whole lot more sense than I expected. He looked pretty guilty about it as well, judging from the expression on his face.

“I guess blowing up the mines didn’t work…” he said  
“Don’t beat yourself up too much mate.”

He looked up at me, looking slightly concerned. I half expected him to say “why,” but he didn’t. He just stared at me, thinking.

“Thank you.” he said, looking very relieved.  
“Why?” I asked, confused.  
“For not being angry.”

He expected me to be angry? I guess I sort of get why. I ya think about it, it is sort of his fault spy got captured. Can’t really blame him though, since people normally don’t survive explosions.  
I didn’t really have a response with him, so I just looked back at the road. The town was up ahead, only a few miles out judging by the horizon. Spy just stared out the window, absorbed in his own thoughts.

Eventually, we reached the town. Good thing too, since the piss smell was starting to make Spy a bit restless. It was a pretty small town, probably only having a population of 500. Well, i think Soldier and Demo visited here a while back while bar hopping, so it might be more like ten people live here.  
I stopped in front of a small gas station, turning off the engine and stepping out, with Spy following me. We both walked inside, looking for coffee, mostly.  
It was a small store, so small that the guy who was behind the counter was probably the owner. There wasn't much in the useful category, although there were some cups of coffee I could get. Pre-sugared too, although I usually don’t like sugar in my coffee. Or cream. Spy was off looking at the pre-prepared food.

“Sniper, are you hungry?” He called from across the store.  
“No, thanks mate!” I called back.

He nodded and grabbed a tuna sandwich for himself. We both paid for our own stuff and headed back to the camper. The coffee tasted like piss once I managed to get a sip. I’d say I’m disappointed in this garbage but that’s an understatement. Syrupy, watery, piss-flavored garbage. At least it had caffeine in it.

“This tastes like piss.” I grumbled.  
“...Agreed.”

His tuna sandwich didn’t look too appetizing. Way too watery, way too grey looking. I think I’d rather eat the spam out of a can than eat that. He managed to choke it down though. Guess he was hungry.  
I finished my coffee and shoved the cup beneath my seat with all my other garbage. Spy gave me a judgemental look, stuffing his own garbage into his suit pocket.

“I’ll clean it out later alright?”

He nodded, leaning back in the chair. He still looked very uncomfortable. If we actually manage to pull this off and get back to the base, I’ll have to remember to not use jarate to extinguish him. Probably would give the guy a heart attack.  
Hours of driving went by. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky orange. The building broke the horizon, sticking up out of the desert like a broken nail wedged in a board. We were getting close. Admittedly, I’m not sure what we’re going to do once we get there, or if this even the right place. Even if we do manage to find Spook, how are we going to get him out? What if he’s injured? If he’s dead do we just leave his body there? What do we do with Clauden? Kill him? Probably. I mean, can't just let the guy live. He probably knows about the Base. He might try to kidnap someone else. It would be funny to watch him try to kidnap Soldier though. Kidnapping Spook was one thing, but Soldier? He’s a whole different animal. At least Soldier would have fun.  
Finally, we pulled up to the building. The outside didn’t look much different. Broken, with the structural integrity of toothpicks. There were footprints in the soil though. Big ones. Bigger than mine at least. Spy must’ve noticed them too.

“Those are his boots.” He said quietly.  
“He has big feet.” I joked.  
“...He does.”

We both turned toward the door. Glanced at each other, took our weapons, and went through the broken doorway, ready for anything. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short-ish chapter. It was going to be part of the next chapter, but then it would have been way to long.


	8. The Compund

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new Spy and Sniper finally make it to the building.

The building wasn’t much better on the inside. Despite what my gut is telling me, it looks like nobody’s here, or even ever been here. The walls were starting to cave, the wood was warped, windows splintered, and the air was dusty and hollow. The floor looked less than stable, and whatever carpet that was here before was now faded and frayed back into yarn. Everything seemed to point to it being empty and abandoned.  
And yet, a feeling of unease permeated the place, coating it with a thick dusting of discomfort that wouldn’t stop gnawing at my stomach. Something was off. Very off.  
Spy looked around, revolver in hand, avoiding less stable areas of the floor. He ran his finger along the wall, examining it, and making a confused expression.

“What’s up mate?” I asked, walking over to him.  
“There's dust.” He said.  
“Well, yea? It’s an old building mate. They usually have some dirt or dust on things.”  
“Not...enough dust for the age of the building.”

I walked around. It certainly seemed dusty enough, although most of it seemed to be in the air. It was starting to irritate my lungs.

“Most of its in the air.” I said, coughing.

He nodded in acknowledgement. He tapped his foot, thinking. Honestly the building still looked dusty enough to me. Stuff’s everywhere. Then again I don’t really dust all that often. I kinda just roll all the windows down on my camper. Maybe I should start dusting more often.  
Spy continued to walk around. He paused when the building creaked with the wind, glancing up at the ceiling that was raining splinters and dust.

“...This place is very unstable.” he said, shielding his eyes from debris.  
“Ya think?” I said, slightly annoyed at the lack of progress.

I heard a creak beneath me. Looking down, I could see a dark pit between the floorboards. Spy looked down as well, looking very concerned. He was about to say something, probably about how we shouldn’t be standing there, but he didn’t get the chance. The floorboards gave way under our combined weight, sending me plummeting. Spy managed to grab my leg, leaving me dangling in the air. I had a few cuts on my arms from the floorboards. The only thing below me was darkness.

“Pull me up PULL ME UP!” I shouted up at him, panicking a bit  
“I’m...trying!” he yelled back. 

He tried to pull me up, his arms shaking with exertion, teeth clenched. He almost managed to pull me up. Almost.

“How scrawny are ya?! I don’t weigh that much!” I shouted, annoyed.

He was about to say something back, but a loud crack interrupted him. The floor beneath him groaned, bent, and finally splintered, sending us both plummeting into the depths.  
For a few seconds we fell freely, panic gripping my throat. Thankfully we didn’t fall too far, only about twenty feet. I ended up landing face-first onto concrete. I think my nose broke. Judging from the blood taste in my mouth, I was right. This is the third bloody time my nose has been broken.  
Looks like I was in some sort of tunnel. An inch-high layer of water covered the ground, pooling in some of the less uneven areas, and the tunnel seemed to branch off in more than a few places. Railroad tracks weave themselves in and out of tunnels like a spider web. The ceiling was made of solid, sturdy concrete. Guess we fell through a venting hole or something like that.   
I Didn’t know the building had something like this underneath here. I always thought it was just an old abandoned building. Guess not. This is going to be a pain to navigate.  
This whole place was making me uneasy. It was vast, dim, and looked like a labyrinth from my nightmares. The lights above were some sort of fluorescent that was starting to hurt my eyes. The walls Had small black bulb things in the corners that sort of stared at me. Plus the walls didn’t have any crack or vines growing on it. It was maintained. People were down here doing something. Mining? I couldn’t tell.  
I heard splashing behind me. I spun around, brandishing my kukri. Thankfully, it was just Spy, holding his hands up so he didn’t look like a threat.

“It’s...just me Sniper.” He said quietly.  
“Right. Sorry mate.” I said, putting away my weapon.

He looked around, taking a few steps forward.

“This looks familiar…” He mumbled. “This is the place where Clauden would be.”

I nodded. The tunnels did look distinctive. They had a weird, semi-circle roof, littered with vents and pipes. Seems pretty stable, despite the water issue. Wonder how long it took to build.

“Let’s get started then.” I said, stepping forward and heading down the tunnel.

Spy followed. He was more on edge the further we went down the tunnel, glancing at the tunnels we passed with suspicion, like he expected to be attacked.

“Kinda quiet eh?” I said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

He jumped, not expecting the sudden sound of my voice. He stared at me a moment. Probably shouldn’t have said that so loudly.

“Er, yes.” He said, relieved that it was me. “Please don’t do that again.”

I nodded. Despite our splashing, voices, and footsteps, there seemed to be nobody here. Didn’t really help with my nerves though. In fact it probably made them worse. Somebody should be here, unless we’re really far from anything important, which is almost as bad. My entire body was coiled like a spring, ears straining for any sound that could be heard over the noise.  
We walked for a little while, staying near the walls of the tunnel. Eventually, we reached a large storage area. Crates filled with weapons, ammo, and metals littered the room, all piled on top of one another in some vaguely organized way. One of the boxes looked like it had either gold or australium in it. If it was australium, there was more in this box than I have ever seen. Well, other than that rocket...  
I heard approaching footsteps. Me and Spy quickly hid behind a large box, watching as a few men walked in and started opening and closing some boxes. They were armed, each having a different gun and some sort of sharp knife on their belt. They chatted amongst themselves about random things, including sports. Apparently the Red Sox won another game yesterday, 12 to 9. Scout would love to hear that, although he probably already knows, unless Demo won the nightly brawl for the TV.  
More people came into the room, all armed and some pushing boxes in modified minecarts. The new boxes seemed to be carrying some sort of metal. Copper? It was hard to tell from here. Unfortunately, One of the men started walking towards the crate I was hiding behind. I had to scramble to another just to avoid being found. Thankfully he didn’t see me, but that was way too close. We have to get outta here, fast.

“So what does ol’ Clauden want to do with all of this copper?” one of the men said.  
“Dunno.” Another said. “A new boat?”  
“Who the hell makes a boat out of copper?” One of the older ones grumbled.  
“You would.”  
“Shut up.”

I mean, I wouldn’t want a boat made of copper. Sounds like it would sink. Wait, they have boats? Is Spook even still here then? Or did they take him somewhere else? I swear if I have to go to Italy again I’m going to...do something. For now though, I still have to get past these guys.  
Spy must’ve read my mind. He had managed to steal a bar from a hole in the side of the crates while I was complaining about Italy, and was now slinking along the wall like a damn cat. They couldn’t even hear him. Problem was, they were starting to spread out in the room, and I was running out of time. Whatever spy was planning on doing he better do it quickly.   
Spy glanced over at me and gave me a smile, and then started scaling the wall like a gecko, standing on his toes and fingertips, still in complete silence. I didn’t know he could do that. Do all spys know how to do that? Spook’s never done that.I’ll have to ask later.  
He got up on top of one of the taller stacks of boxes, and then just beaned one of the guys in the back of the head with the bar of copper, knocking him out and probably killing him. I’m more surprised. Kinda expected him to just stab the guy.  
The other guys stopped what they were doing and pulled out their various guns, pointing them at all angles of the room. Spy slinked between boxes, dagger in hand. I pulled out my rifle, shooting one in the head. They turned towards the crate I was hiding behind. Three guys left, and more possibly coming. We have to be fast.  
I shot another, missing and hitting his shoulder instead of his head, but he dropped his weapon and couldn’t use it anymore, so it worked out. Spy managed to stab the other in the back of the neck, leaving one unwounded guy behind. I shot him, this time hitting his temple. One left.  
Kinda felt bad for the guy. He was standing in the middle of the room, with all of his companions either dead or dying in a matter of seconds. He stood in silence, weighing his options. Spy and I were still out of sight. He decided to run. I shot him in the back of the head.

“That ended better than I expected it to.” Spy said, walking up to me once the coast was clear.  
“Yea.” I said. “Way better.”  
“We should get going.”  
“Right.”

We stored the bodies in an empty crate in the corner. Spy said I’d be awhile before anyone finds them, so we’ll have a bit of time before an alarm is sounded. Good.  
We went down one of the tunnels, coming across a split path. One way went to the left, while the other kept going. Both sides gave me a bad feeling in my stomach.

“We could...split up.” Spy said, examining the tunnels. “We would cover more ground.”

I looked over at him. For some reason, that seemed like a really bad idea. A really, really bad idea.

“Let’s not.” I mumbled.  
“Why not?” he asked.  
“Doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

He looked confused, but then just nodded. He had a point, we would cover more ground, but we don’t have any way to communicate. We’d probably get lost, or get shot and die. Respawn isn’t active on the weekends, and probably doesn’t have the range to reach out here. My gut was knotting itself again. Maybe I can just stop thinking about it. Maybe I didn’t want to find him with his arm blown off.

“Alright then.” He said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Which one then?”

Both were giving me a bad feeling. Problem was, “neither” wasn’t an option, since that would just bring us back to the crate room. I chose the forward moving one. Always move forward I guess? Spy didn’t have any idea which one would bring us closer to Spook either so we just went with my guess.  
Turns out the tunnel led to some sort of recreation area. It was small, consisting of two vending machines, a coffee maker, a sink, and a fake leather couch. There was also a striped lounge chair in the corner. Guess Clauden cheaped out on the furniture.

“This is...a pleasant surprise.” Spy said. “Not our goal, but nice either way.”  
“Yea.” I said.

Honestly, I kinda want to steal something from the vending machine. Or make coffee. God, I could really use a coffee right now. I still haven’t caught up on my sleep yet. I probably shouldn’t make any though. Don’t want to be discovered by the trash I leave behind.  
I heard footsteps behind us, I dove under the couch, while Spy somehow managed to wedge himself behind the snacks vending machine. Two workers came in, talking about nothing important.

“-And then she decided it would be a good idea to leave!” one of them said.

The other burst out laughing. I’m sure it was a good punchline to a joke but I really wished they would leave faster. They didn’t. In fact, one of them sat on the couch, effectively pinning me to the ground. Bugger.

“Man this couch sucks.” The one above me said. “It’s all lumpy.”  
“It’s not that bad.” The other said, starting to make coffee.  
“It could be a whole lot better- wait, hold on.

He called me lumpy, the wanker. The coffee maker rolled his eyes, leaning against the vending machine Spy was behind as the one above me put his hand up to his ear. He had some sort of communication device in his ear, kinda looked like a hearing aid to be honest. A radio? He pressed a button.

“What’s up chief?” The Couch Guy said. 

A beat of silence followed as whoever was on the phone talked. Something felt a bit off, but I wasn’t sure why.

“Ya want us to bring coffee to the guy you captured?” the Couch Guy said.

The guy who was making coffee paused, then poured two cups, chugging one of them and then over-filling the other one. I perked up. That’s Spook they're talking about! We’re so close. We’ll be able to go home soon. Well, we’ll still have to kill clauden, but it’ll be easier with all three of us.

“Alright, can-do chief.” The Couch Guy said, clicking the button again and standing up.

Coffee Guy followed Couch Guy out of the doors and out into the tunnel. I scrambled out from under the couch and almost opened the doors to follow them. Spy stopped me, grabbing my shoulder before I could walk out the door.

“Don’t follow them.” He said, holding my shoulder. “It might be a trap.”  
“It might not be.” I said, removing his hand from my shoulder.  
“It almost certainly is.” He said, a bit more sternly.

I was livid. They could lead us right to him! But Spy wanted to stop and wait? What if Spook’s dead by the time we get to him?! Still, I have this uneasy feeling. Maybe he’s right. No. We have to s]find him.

“It’s not!” I said. “They’re just two wankers delivering coffee!”  
“Who delivers coffee to a prisoner?!” He said, standing his ground.

He had a point. He was making sense. Who would give coffee to a prisoner? Tom Jones probably would, from what Scout tells me. Either way, we could still follow them! We could at least find the area Spook’s in!

“Someone very polite!” I said, pissed.  
He shook his head. “Clauden’s not like that.”

I was pissed. I really wanted to strangle the guy. We’re so close. So. Close. Does he even want to find Spook? He probably doesn’t. He probably just wants to kill Clauden. In fact, he may even want Spy dead. It would make his job a lot easier. Maybe he’s even working with Clauden. I gritted my teeth, ready for a fight.

“Do ya not care?!” I yelled.  
“I do! It’s just-” He said, backing up a bit.  
“Ya don’t. In fact, you’re probably still working for the guy! Probably trying to stop me from rescuing Spook so you can cash in a nice paycheck from Clauden.” I spat with venom.

I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean to say that. It just sort of...came out I guess. Paranoia just got the best of me. I shouldn't have...said that.   
I felt awful. Spy wouldn’t do that. Ii he really wanted to kill me, he could have just killed me earlier while I was asleep in the camper, or killed me in the confusion earlier. Would've been easier than whatever I thought he might have been planning.  
Spy just took a step back, looking at me, face going from anger to shock. He had a somewhat hurt expression on his face, taking a step away from me.

“No.” He said. It was all he said.

He didn’t yell back. No sarcastic quips or arguments, like Spook would’ve done. Just the cold acceptance of the situation.  
He looked over at the wall, tapping his foot on the floor. He glanced between me, the wall, and the door, thinking.

“We can...follow them for a little bit.” he said quietly. “Until we notice something is...suspicious. Is that okay with you?”

I nodded. I couldn’t tell if he forgave me or not. I probably should’ve said sorry, But I didn’t. I didn’t say anything. I just opened the door and walked out, with him following me. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I really should say sorry. Maybe I can do it later. For now we have to find Spook.  
I still had an uneasy feeling. Even when we caught up with the two guys and hid behind boxes, it still wouldn’t go away. Was Spy right? Was this a trap? I pushed the thought down and ignored it.   
Spy was next to me, silent. He was thinking, as usual. Something was bugging him. Something was eating away at me too, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.   
We managed to catch up to them thanks to some coffee splatters on the ground. Couch Guy and Coffee Guy were up ahead, walking and talking, carrying a cup of coffee for Spook.

“Ya think he’ll give me a raise” Couch Guy said.  
“No, he’ll just demote you if you ‘fix’ the vending machine.” Coffee Guy said.

We followed them a little while longer. Don’t know how these guys even know where they’re going. All the tunnels look the same. Same vents, same weird black things in the corners. Guess they’ve worked here a while. Storage room seemed kind of pointless given all the damn boxes that are just laying in the halls.

“Sniper.” Spy whispered, facing turning from focused to horrified. 

I paused before hiding behind the next box, still keeping an eye on the two workers up ahead. Something was very wrong.

“What?” I whispered back, my stomach tightening into a knot again.  
“Do you see those...black studs?”

I nodded. They were everywhere honestly, always wedged in the corners. I really didn’t like where he was going with this. My stomach was still knotting again, honestly starting to bother me.

“They’re cameras.” He whispered solemnly.

I looked at them. I assumed they were for some sort of structural support or something. Looking closer, I could see they were slightly transparent, with a tiny camera lense on the inside, surrounded by little red lights. How a camera could be that small and still work was beyond me. Maybe that’s why there’s so many of them. My stomach dropped like a brick.

“Bugger.” I muttered.

I stood up from my previously crouching position, panicking. My throat was tight, mind starting to race. I was shaking.  
This was a trap. This was a trap and Spy was right. They’ve known where we are this entire time and I can’t remember a single room without those cameras and oh God-  
A hand on my shoulder interrupted my thoughts. I nearly jumped, jerking around and expecting it to be the Coffee or Couch Guy. Instead it was Spy, who looked genuinely concerned. He looked a bit panicked as well, antsy and jumpy.

“We’ll just...have to be quicker.” He said, giving me an, admittedly, comforting smile.  
“Alright.” I said. “We can just-”

Spy suddenly whirled around, stabbing a guard who had snuck up behind us in the chest. There were at least five more heading down the hallway to us. Spy took out his revolver and took out a few of them. They were too close for my rifle, so I just took out my kukri and stood near Spy.  
I heard footsteps behind me. Before I could turn around and slash the guy, my eyes were covered. I slashed anyway, hoping to distance myself from whoever just blinded me.

“One’s blinded!” Said one of them.  
“Both blinded.” said another.

They got Spy. No. Not again. Please, not like this. I called out, yelling for Spy to see if I could find his location. I was disarmed, kukri being wrenched from my grasp. My hands were roughly wretched behind me, tied with strong rope I couldn’t hope to break out of. I struggled. Judging from the annoyed grunts of the guards, Spy was fighting back as well.  
I called out again, begging for an answer before I was gagged. 

“Both are gagged” One of them said.  
“Rodger.” Another said.

Silence was my one and only answer from Spy. I could feel myself being pulled one direction. I kicked and writhed like a rattlesnake without a head, managing to kick one of them. They tied my legs. I tugged and pulled, probably bruising my wrists and ankles in the process, to the point of exhaustion.  
They were dragging me somewhere. I couldn’t see, couldn’t even scream profanities at them. I couldn’t fight back anymore, too tired to. I was helpless, at the mercy of whoever I was being carried by. I Completely and utterly helpless.


	9. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sniper finally meets Clauden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit shorter than usual.

I hate being blinded. The gag I can deal with. I’m not usually a talkative type anyway. Most of my work is done in relative silence and at a distance. Unlike spys, talking isn’t really part of my job. My eyes, on the other hand, are my main sense. Without my eyes, I can’t shoot, I can’t scope out an area, I can’t do anything but stand around like an idiot. My ears are good, but without my eyes, don’t know where I’m going. Being blinded is basically the worst thing that could happen to a sniper.  
Yet here I am, being dragged to God knows where by people who are more skilled than I originally thought they were. I wish they at least kept my eyes uncovered so I could see where they were taking me.  
Spy was right. It was a trap. Why didn’t I listen to him? He knows Clauden, knows how he works and thinks. Guess I was too desperate to think properly. I’m such an idiot.  
I’m sore. I think my wrists are actually bleeding from how much I struggled. I guess I’m not used to getting captured. I hate this. I’m at the mercy of the guys carrying me. Where are they taking me? Are they going to kill me? Are they going to kill Spy? Probably. Is he even alive? Probably not.  
My stomach was starting to feel nauseous. Nerves, combined with lack of sleep and food is probably starting to shurn my stomach. I was sweating, probably shaking a bit too. The taste of bile on the back of my tongue isn't helping at all. Where the hell are they taking me?! They aren’t even talking about the bastards!  
At least the guards aren’t making fun of me for shaking. They seem like reasonable people, at least as reasonable as you could be working in a job like this. Kinda wish they would talk though. As much as I hate talking to strangers myself, listening wasn’t so bad. I’d take my mind off of the paranoia currently gnawing at the back of my brain right now.  
Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to save Spook. He’d probably escape if he was still alive. Maybe he already did, but still ended up vanishing on his own terms, never to return. I still wish he would’ve called me or left a note or something.  
I could feel myself still being carried. I heard a door open. I heard a lot of doors open earlier as they dragged me through the catacombs, but this time they actually put me in what felt like a chair. With one quick motion I was unbound, ungagged, and unblinded. 

“He’s here sir.” one of the guards said.

The door locked behind me with a loud click, locking me inside this...office?

“YOU BASTARDS!” I screamed, standing up.

Probably should’ve looked around before I yelled that loudly. The guys were already gone. I was sitting comfortably in an intricately carved walnut chair, positioned in front of a large desk of a similar design. Papers were stacked neatly on one side, while a computer monitor and keyboard stood at the other end. On the other side of the desk was a large chair with leather cushions, probably meant for someone important. Clauden? Maybe. Still no sign of either spy.  
The room I was in was surprisingly pleasant. The lighting seemed more natural despite still being underground. The walls were decorated with those weird abstract paintings that offices usually had. On the back wall behind the desk was a large monitor, kinda like the one we have back at the base. Next to it was some sort of control panel, covered in colored buttons and a number pad. There was also an eerily familiar hum coming from below me. It sounded a lot like the respawn machine back at the base. I know it’s probably just a generator or something like that, but it still made me uneasy.   
The office wasn’t free from those little cameras in the corners. Other than that and the weird hum, the room was very...pleasant. It had an air of calmness to it. A cold sort of calmness, like how Spook would be during battles. Almost forget I was just dragged here against my will. Almost.  
Speaking of, I did notice I was no longer bound by ropes. I rubbed my wrists, trying to sooth them a bit and loosen my joints. They were pretty badly bruised and scabbed. Those ropes were way too tight and rough.  
Oddly, I was completely free to roam around the room if I wanted too. They didn’t tie me down to the chair like I’d expected too. I could just walk out of the room if I really wanted too. I didn’t. Something about the room unnerved me. Maybe it was how clean it was? I don’t know. Plus the door was locked tight.  
A door on the side of the room opened. A man, twice my height and width walked in. He had short, reddish hair and a five o’ clock shadow. He was muscular, probably able to snap me in half like a toothpick. He wore a black striped suit with a gold and balck tie, and wore heavy-duty gloves on his hands. He walked slowly and deliberately. Honestly this guy probably didn’t even need any guards. I don’t think any bullet could get through the muscle.  
I stood up, raring for a fight I would certainly lose, raising my fists. This guy was big, and kinda reminds me of the Classic Heavy in the worst way possible. He glanced over at me, sitting down in his chair, not the least bit intimidated by me.

“Who are ya?!” I demanded. He raised an eyebrow and motioned for me to sit. I didn’t.  
“My name is Cornwallis Clauden, although you may just call me Clauden.”

He gave me a warm smile. One of his canines was gold-plated. His voice was deep, somehow threatening and calm all at once. He was acting like this whole thing was a business meeting, or like I was a rowdy teenager about to get a one-on-one from the principal. Scares the living daylights out of me.

“Sit down. You’ve had a rough day.” He said, reaching under his desk.

No shit sherlock. I watched to see what he was pulling out from his desk before I sat down. Turned out to just be two fancy glasses and a pitcher of water.

“Before we start,” He said, pouring water into the cups. “I would like to apologize.”

I sat down finally, very confused. Why was he being so polite? What does he want from me? Why is he apologizing? Did he not mean for his lackeys to shoot at me earlier?

“For your...rough treatment.” He continued. “Although you did break into my headquarters.”

He poured the glasses slowly, then handed me the cup. I took it reluctantly, still not entirely sure of what to make of him. This was Clauden that Spy was so afraid of? The same guy who managed to kidnap Spook? I almost didn’t buy it. And yet…  
I only nodded in response. I couldn’t really respond to that. I did break into his mining thing.

“So what’s your name?” he said, taking a sip of his water.  
“Ya can call me Sniper.” I answered, taking a reluctant sip.  
“Sniper.” He said. “You’re a mercenary?”  
“Yes.” I said.

He leaned back in his chair, setting his empty glass on the desk gently. He folded his hands in front of me. His right arm looked a little off, but I couldn’t tell with his gloves and sleeves.

“Were you sent here by somebody?” He asked, looking at me with what I could only guess was confusion.  
“No.” I said.  
“You came here yourself hmm?”  
“Yes.”

He thought for a while, thinking. He tapped his desk, absentmindedly looking at the papers on his desk. He then looked back up at me, expression unreadable.

“Why?” He asked.

I didn’t know how to respond. Should I tell him the truth? I guess it can only help. It would be kind of weird if I just broke in here without a reason.

“Came to rescue someone.” I said.  
“Ahhhh that’s why.” He said, looking slightly relieved. “You’re just here for the captured Spy.”

I nodded. Admittedly I was getting excited. Maybe Spook can be saved after all. Maybe all three will be able to get home and have a drink. Maybe a couple. Definitely more than a couple.  
Clauden was thinking. He grinned, sending shivers down my spine. Something about him still didn’t sit right with me, despite his calm and freindly-ish demeanor. He looked like a shark or a gator watching me squirm in a cage of my own anxiety.

“I may have a deal.” He said, leaning forward a bit. “The spy you brought with you managed to escape.”

Spy managed to escape? Where is he anyway? Is he hiding? He might be trying to look for me, if he even knows where I went. Wonder if he’s okay.

“Despite his invisi-watch being broken, he’s still managing to slip past all of my guards.” He said, sounding a touch irritated.  
“Oh.” Was all I could say. His fancy watch broke. Great.  
“You see, your little friend is a...thorn in my side.” He said, adjusting his gloves. “He ruined my first little mining operation a decade ago.”

Guess Spy wasn’t lying about the mining mission he had.

“Caused a lot of damages. Expensive damages. Lost a lot of australium when the area collapsed too. Set me back a decade in production.” He grumbled.

I just sat there. I didn’t like where he was going with this.

“I think I have an Idea that both of us will like. If you tell me where he is, I'll give the older, fouler-mouthed one back to you.” He said, leaning back again in his chair.

For a split second I considered it. This is it, I could save Spook, assuming this guy will hold up his end of the deal. Problem was, I wasn’t just going to abandon Spy like that. He’s risking his own life just to help me save Spook. Another thing is I have no idea where he went. He could honestly be anywhere. He could’ve bailed on me for all I know. Or be taking a piss in the rec room. So I couldn't help even if I tried.

“I...don’t know where he went.” I mumbled.

Clauden nodded.

“Ah. You two came here without a backup plan? Very interesting. Very interesting indeed.”

He sighed, looking slightly annoyed.

“I expected you two to be more...careful, but I suppose you could just help me find him. You do know him somewhat personally after all. You know what he brought with him, his tools, abilities.”

He just called us an amatuer. I’d be angry, but now’s not the time to lash out. He leaned forward, now fully focused on me. I shifted uncomfortably. This guy had the stare of a jaguar; Predatory and waiting for any weakness to show. My mind was screaming at me to just run, but I was trapped here. The door was locked, and I don’t know how to really pick locks. Suddenly the room doesn’t feel very inviting anymore.

“...No.” I said.  
“No?” He said, sounding a tad surprised.  
“No. I will not accept. Maybe we can do something else? I don’t want to just do a swap...ya know?” I said, not entirely sure if he was willing to haggle.

Clauden nodded in what I think is understanding. Good. Maybe we can work something out. Maybe I can find a way to get both Spy and Spook out of here without anyone dying. Why do I get the feeling that this isn’t going to work out well.  
He took off the glove on his right hand, revealing what I could only assume was a mechanical hand made of australium? I couldn’t tell. Either way, the yellow lights on it probably weren't good.  
Before I could even blink he rushed forward, and pinned me to the wall by my neck. His other arm was mechanical, and had claws instead of finger tips, and pipes running down from the hand and up his sleeve. There was a hole in his robotic palm for some reason. it smelled like smoak.  
I was beginning to choke. I fought against his iron grip, but it was like fighting a brick wall. Unmoving, and unrelenting. I was starting to panic, slowly running out of breath. I kicked and struggled, but It did absolutely nothing. Using his mechanical arm, he slashed my neck, slowly but efficiently dragging his claws across my windpipe, the cold metal slicing though my flesh like a hot knife through butter. I shuddered, still trying to fight back.  
Strangely, he didn’t kill me. He drew blood, sure, but he didn’t go deep enough to do any damage. He would certainly leave a scar, a permanent one. Is this how Spy got the scar on his face? Does Clauden do this to all of his visitors? Why doesn't he just kill me?  
He let go of my neck, letting me fall to the ground. He loomed over me while I was trying to get air back into my lungs. He grinned, flashing his golden tooth, and called the guards to escort me somewhere. I see why Spy is so scared of Clauden now.

“Let him out.” He said over the radio. “Quickly.”

I looked up at him, finally regaining my breath, still on my hands and knees. He looked down and gave me another shark-like grin. Why doesn’t he just kill me? He could just crush my windpipe or spine or something. Does he still need me for something? What does he want from me? Did he enjoy watching me bleed out on the floor? That’s...sick. He didn’t give me any answers despite my confused and alarmed look.

“Glad to see we’ve come to an agreement.” Clauden said.

Agreement? What agreement? What the hell was this guy talking about? My stomach was still in a knot, and I was shaking a bit. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Clauden scares me. He scares me a lot. There’s something very off about him. I’ve seen drug cartels that didn’t scare me as much as this guy.  
Two people came and helped me off the ground. Strangely, they didn’t tie me up, in fact one of them even held the door open. I thought about knocking them out with a swift punch to the back of their heads, but then I glanced at Clauden. If I fought or struggled, he would just kill me. I opted to just follow the guards out. Maybe I can think of something else.  
They walked next to me in the hallway, armed but relaxed. They didn’t say anything to me or each other as they led me through the winding tunnels, although their radios went off occasionally, the voices too muffled for me to hear.   
My neck was sore and tender. The claw slash that he gave me had stopped bleeding as heavily, but was now starting to swell and bruise painfully. Wonderful. One of the guys gave a slightly concerned look at my neck.

“Sore?” The guard asked.  
“...yea.” I said.  
“well...If we were allowed to we’d stop by the med bay. Boss said for you to leave quickly though. Sorry.”  
“It’s alright.” I said. “Does he do this to everyone?”  
“Yea. He marks people he deems an enemy like that. Kinda cruel to be honest. I think he does it to remind them of him.”

The marks people like this? Why? To find them later? As a sick joke? Maybe he’s just an asshole.

“Oh.” I said.  
“It sucks.” He said.

We walked for a little while longer, mostly in total silence, save for a few radio calls.

“So where are ya taking me?” I said, hoping that they were at least going to tell me that.

Neither of them responded. The two guys led me down the hallways, past the few I recognized. We took a sharp turn left, splashing through water, the little beady cameras following me everywhere. Down a few flights of stairs, a sharp turn right, and another sharp turn led me to a new hallway that was bigger than the rest.  
The hallway opened up to an enormous cave. Small boats full of crates or metals lined what looked like a well-maintained port. Minecart rails lined the docks and went up back into the tunnel. Further back in the caves I could see a dot of daylight. An exit. Looking closer, there seemed to be bars covering it. Not sure how they got in. Maybe they just open the bars remotely.  
The two guards led me down to a dock, stopping in front of a smaller boat. Were they giving me a boat? Were they just going to drop me off on some random shore? It looked a little too small for an ocean boat, so maybe the cave just connected to a river somewhere?

“So where am I going?” I asked.

No response. For some reason, something was bugging me. A growing feeling of dread pooling in my stomach. Something wasn’t right. They shifted a bit behind me. I could hear scraping metal, then silence. My stomach turned to stone.


	10. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sniper finds someone expected and unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caution: Choking/suffocation experienced. If that or claustrophobic situations bother you I would highly recommend skipping the first half of the chapter.

I woke up later. I don’t know where I am. I seemed to be curled up in a metal box? I couldn’t quite tell. Everything was dark.

My head really hurts. A concussion? It would explain some things. Where am I? I can’t move. Everything is all stuffy and uncomfortable. Why can’t I get up? Everything is all...fuzzy.

It took a few moments, but I managed to get my bearings. Feeling the smooth, cold surface dotted with bolts, I could tell I was in some sort of metal box that wouldn’t open, no matter how much I pushed on it. There didn’t seem to be any sort of holes to see out of. Were they smuggling me somewhere? No, they just smacked me over the head with a hunk of metal and sealed me in a box. Bastards.

I tried to shift, but didn’t have enough space. Everything hurt. Blood was streaming down my face from wherever they hit me. My neck was still sore and bleeding. I was tired, brused, and my entire body ached. My stomach growled, not having eaten for...a few days? I lost track of time a while ago. It’s definitely at least Sunday. Wonder if anyone’s figured out we didn’t actually visit family. Maybe they didn’t. They miss a lot of things like that. 

They probably don’t even care if Spook's gone. They didn’t seem like they cared anyway. Well, Engie and Medic cared enough to mess with the respawn. Scout probably cares too. Kinda hard to tell with everyone else though. They’re pretty reserved.

Wonder where Spy is. He managed to escape, so he could be anywhere. Maybe he’s looking for me? Or maybe he left me to die, using me to distract Clauden’s guards while he fled. No. He wouldn’t do that. Would he? No. Stop being paranoid, Mundy. He’s not going to just leave you here. He wouldn’t. At least, I hope he wouldn’t. He might though. No! He won’t.

Wonder where they are. Wonder where the hell I am. I still can’t see a damn thing, and nothing was budging. I pushed, but there was no sign of any sort of opening. My chest tightened. The air was uncomfortable and stuffy and it was getting hard to breath, either from anxiety or lack of air. I can’t get out. There’s not enough room. I can’t see. I can’t move. I was starting to sweat. I still can’t move and everything was uncomfortable and Spook’s probably dead and I can’t breath-

I can’t breath. My chest heaved, trying desperately to suck in air but to no avail. My heart started to beat faster as I tried to push, tried to shove, tried anything. Nothing would move. I barely had any room to move myself. The box was still closed. There was still no air.

I couldn’t even talk, couldn’t even scream. I tried. I tried pounding and flailing and screaming but nothing happened. My chest was starting to clench up, still desperately fighting for air as I clawed at the ceiling of my grave. I was shaking. Please, not like this.

The edges of my vision blurred. I was still trying to gasp for air, clawing at the walls of my prison. The walls seemed to push against me. My stomach was coiled into a knot. I was shaking. Everything was starting to go dim and there wasn’t anything I could do. Tears pricked the edges of my eyes as I tried one last thing to push. It didn’t work. I could feel my limbs beginning to go numb and limp.

With a loud crash I was suddenly greeted by blinding light. I rolled over, free from whatever hell that was. My lungs burned while I gasped for air, choking and coughing. I layed on the ground, unable to do anything but try to breathe. Somebody put a hand on my shoulder. They were saying something but it wasn’t very clear.

“....breathe…” They said “Can...me...?”

They sounded familiar, but my swamp of a brain couldn’t figure out who they were. I tried to respond, but they only got a cough and a gasp as a reply. They rolled me over onto my back.

“....Stand....” They said, a bit louder this time.

Stand? I could barely roll over by myself. Who even were they? One of the guards? I blinked a few times, trying to see who they were. I could really only see their outline.

“Mundy…hear...?” They said, easing me to an upright sitting position.

Spook?  
I shook my head, vision clearing. Looking up I could see a very concerned looking man staring back down at me. He wore a dark blue tuxedo and mask, and currently had a black eye, and several other bruises on his face. It was Spook. It was Spook! He was alive, and almost completely fine! He was okay! He was here...

I was so excited. He either didn’t notice or care bou it though. He just continued to examine carefully. Currently he was examining my neck, tracing his gloves over the sore, swollen scabs. I was tempted to grab his arm, but my motor functions still didn’t work right.

“They’re not too deep.” He mumbled to himself. “So he should be able to breath.”  
“Spook?” I managed to say through my gasps.

He re-focused on my face, looking relieved that I finally spoke. He had a small grin on his face.

“Good, no brain damage.” He said. “Although admittedly it’s a bit hard to tell with you.”  
“Asshole.” I muttered, grinning myself now.

He’s alive. He’s alive and fairly uninjured. Not sure how he managed to escape, but he was here now. I felt a whole lot safer, although something was still bothering me.

He looked around, then dragged me behind some nearby crates so we wouldn’t be seen. We’re still in the bay areas from what I could see. Bastards didn’t even have the decency to move the box I was in somewhere else.  
Spy glanced at the australium in a nearby box, looking slightly confused. He turned his attention towards me.

“Can you move?” He asked, propping me up by a box.  
“Don’t know mate” I answered. “maybe?”

My arms moved at least. I still didn’t feel very confident in my legs though. Spy stood up, helping me to my unsteady feet. They shook, feeling and looking like jelly.

“Close enough.” He said.

He looked over at the boats, thinking. A sly grin crossed his face.

“We could use the boats to escape.” He said matter-of-factly.

I nodded, beginning to follow him towards one of the smaller boats, taking one shaky step at a time. Thankfully my strength returned.  
There were a few armed guards on it. He stood behind a box, taking out a revolver. I stood next to him, preparing to help. He aimed at one of their heads.

I grabbed his arm before he could shoot. He looked at me, a bit surprised. I slowly let go of his arm after trusting he wouldn’t shoo them. Yet.

“What?” He said, irritated and worried. Mostly irritated.  
“We gotta find the other spy.” I said.  
“Other spy?” He said, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded. He still looked at me like he grew an extra head. He lowered his revolver and put it away.

“Are you sure there is another spy or are you hallucinating from oxygen deprivation.” He said, sounding understandably suspicious.  
“Yea.” I said. “He helped me get here.  
“Do you have any idea where he is?”  
“No.”

He still looked confused.

“Where did this...second spy come from?” He asked.  
“He was your replacement.” I said  
“I’ve only been gone a few days!”  
“I know.”

He looked confused, then concerned, and then angry.

“They replace me already?!” He said, pissed.  
“Yea mate.” I said.  
“Are you sure we can’t just leave now?”  
“We can’t just leave the spy behind Spook!”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He grumbled something in french, not sounding pleased.

“Fine.” He said. “Do you know where he is?”

I shook my head. He sighed again.

“Let’s go then.” He said. “Is there anyone else here while we’re looking?”  
“No.” I said.

He nodded. He headed towards one of the hallways, then stopped. He took out his disguise kit and clicked a button. In a poof of smoke he was disguised as one of the guards. He grabbed one of the rifles from a crate nearby, as well as some rope.

“I only have one disguise kit, but you may not need one.” He said.  
“Spook I’m not going to let you tie me up.” I said.  
“Do you have any better ideas?”

I thought. He was probably right. Between the cameras everywhere and the fact I don’t have any weapons, this might be our best bet.

“Fine.” I grumbled.

He tied my hands behind my back, using a knot that could easily be broken if I needed to escape for some reason. He also gave me his revolver, just in case things get dicey. He led me through the hallways, passing by and waving at a few other guards.

“I thought he was dead.” one of them said.  
“He would have been dead if you idiots actually did your job properly.” Spook growled back.

It was working perfectly. That guard was the only one that questioned anything after that. We walked the halls effortly.  
Weaving through the corridors we headed deeper into the compound, with no sign of spy.

“Is he disguised?” Spook asked, glancing at some of the guards that were working a little ways away.  
“No.” I said. “He doesn’t have a disguise kit.”  
“He’s an idiot.”  
“Be nice to ‘em. He helped save your sorry ass.”  
“If I recall correctly, I’m saving the both of you.”

I grumbled. He did kinda have a point.

“I’m honestly not sure why you decided to come here.” He said.  
“Because I care about ya Spook.” I said.

His face didn’t change, but he did pause.

“Truely?” He asked, sounding skeptical as always.

I nodded. He didn’t seem to believe that at all.

“I’m being honest.” I said.

He didn’t respond. Instead he dead-stopped in the tunnel, silent. He had pick-pocketed a radio from one of the guys we passed to listen for any sign of Spy.

“Spook are ya-”  
“Shut up!” He said, covering my mouth with his hand.

He listened. He looked very confused, and a little bit concerned. I tried to listen in too, but it was too muffled. Sudden realization crossed his face, then irritation.

“Spook what’s wrong?” I asked.  
“Soldier Is here.” He said  
“What?”  
“Soldier Is here.”

How did the hell Soldier manage to get here? Did he sneak into my camper? Did he follow us on foot? Either way, this was going to be a problem. Soldier was about as subtle as a truck full of explosives heading towards a bonfire. There goes our stealthy escape.

“You said the replacement spy was the only one here!” He said, irritated.  
“I didn’t know he was here!” I said, just as annoyed.  
“How can you not notice Soldier?! He’s the loudest member of the team! He’s allergic to stealth! He uses a rocket launcher and a shovel in battle! You’re telling me that in the days you’ve been here you didn’t notice him?”  
“You didn’t notice him either-”

I cut myself off. Heavy footsteps were heard down the hallway, getting closer with each rhythmic step. My stomach tightened. I broke myself out of the knot and took out the revolver Spook gave me. It was a little smaller than I was used to, but I could still use it effectively. Spook took out his knife and cloaked.

“Spook this isn’t funny!” I yelled, pissed off. “Spook ya coward!”

He didn’t respond. Bastard cloaked like a coward. Footsteps drew closer. I could feel myself tensing up. Was it Clauden? It didn’t sound heavy enough to be him. Was it one of the guards?

They drew ever closer, although I noticed they sounded quicker. Were they running? Sure sounded like it. I could hear familiar voices in the hall as well. I saw a flash, and Soldier landed next to me, carrying Spy.

“HELLO SNIPER!” Soldier yelled.  
“Hey.” I said back, surprised.

Spook de-cloaked, looking irritated.

“HELLO SPY!” Soldier said  
“Bonjour.” Spook said flatly.

Soldier put Spy down. Spy looked like his stomach was about to revolt against him.

“”E-’Ello everyone.” He said, visibly shaken.  
“Guess we found them.” I said, grinning.

Spook wasn’t amused. He looked around at everybody, then stared at the spy.

“You’re my replacement?” Spook said.  
“Yes.” Spy said, still looking like he got hit by a truck.  
“A bit too inexperienced to be hired…” Spook said. “You don’t look much older than Scout.” 

Spy responded with a shrug. Spook looked over him with a critical eye, half out of habit, half to mess with him. Spy was examining him as well, looking more now confused than anything else.

“Alright.” Spook said. “Let’s figure out how to get out of here-” Spook was cut off.  
“...Are you related to the Scout?” the Spy said.

Spook froze, staring at the Spy with slight surprise.

“Is it really that obvious?!” Spook said, now irritated again.  
“YES!” Soldier said enthusiastically.  
“Yep.” I said. “Sorry mate.”  
“You...do have a similar facial structure…” Spy said, regretting asking. “And mannerisms.”

Spook sighed.

“Yes, I am.” Spook said. “Specifically his father, but that isn’t important right now.” Spook said, changing the subject.

Spook glanced out from behind the box, seeing if anyone other than us was in the hallways. He looked at the corner of the room, where a camera was eyeing us.

“They know where we are.” Spook grumbled. He glanced over at Soldier, who was loading his rocket launcher.  
“Soldier, don’t blow up the camera.” Spook said, annoyed.  
“I AM GOING TO BLOW UP THE CAMERA!” Soldier said.

With a well-placed rocket the camera, along with a sizable chunk of the wall, was reduced to smithereens.

“I BLEW UP THE CAMERA!” Soldier yelled proudly.  
“Well I suppose we have a bit longer to figure out our next course of action.” Spook said flatly.  
“WE CAN LEAVE THROUGH THE DOCKS!” Soldier said.  
“Perhaps.”

Spy shook his head.

“We can’t.”  
“Why not?” Spook said, turning to face the spy.  
“There’s a gate at the end.”  
“Soldier could probably break through it.”  
“Even if we manage to get through the gate, Clauden could easily find us again.”

Spook considered this. He weighed his options.

“Fair enough.” Spook said. “Does anyone happen to have chalk?”

Soldier took out a piece of chalk from his helmet.

“HERE YOU GO!” He said, handing Spook a piece of green chalk.

Spook gave him a skeptical, slightly disgusted looked, then started drawing on the crate next to us.

“This is where-” Spook was cut off.

A bullet interrupted him. It just barely missed us.

“Soldier will take care of that?” Spook said, getting back to drawing.  
“You trust him enough to do that?” Spy said.  
“At mindless death and destruction? Of course.” 

Spook turned to look at the spy. 

“He’s not going to betray us, if that’s what you're concerned about. He’s too much of an idiot”  
“He is pretty loyal.” I said, glancing up occasionally to see how Soldier was faring. He hasn’t collapsed the tunnel yet, which is nice.

Spook drew a rectangle, representing the hallway we’re in. He then drew the docks connected to it, as well as any other rooms he could remember, which wasn’t many. Eventually all three of us contributed while Soldier held off the few guards stupid enough to go against him. Soon the map was a tangled mess of locations, including the docks, the supply room, the hole in the building we fell though, and Clauden’s office.

“It’s not exact, but it will suffice.” Spook said.  
“Once we kill Clauden, we’ll escape either via the docks?” I asked.  
“Yes...or the building entrance if we are closer to that one.” Spy said.

Spook was thinking about something, looking slightly concerned.

“Do either of you know why he built this place to begin with?” Spook asked, hand on his chin.  
“TO KILL AMERICA!” Soldier said, feeling left out.”  
“...no…” Spy said. “He most likely started a new australium mine here.”

Spook nodded, still thinking.

“Perhaps there is something more to this.” Spook said.

We didn’t really have the time to figure it out though. We had to run from some guards that had started to overwhelm Soldier. Firing a few shots and dodging bullets, we followed the plan, heading towards the last place anyone saw Clauden: His office.


	11. The Unwelcome Visitor

I should’ve checked my camper before we left. How did he even manage to stay hidden for that long? He's so bloody loud! Even if he was in the sleeping area he still would’ve moved something or yelled something stupid about his raccoons. Did he hang onto the bloody bottom of the camper? Was he hiding under my bed? I hope not. I keep my jarate jars under there and I don’t need him messing with them.

“Soldier? How did ya manage to find us anyway?” I asked.  
“I HELD ONTO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR CAMPER!” He yelled proudly.  
“We were driving for an entire day mate!  
“I HAVE STRONG HANDS!”

I looked at his hands. They were all swollen and bruised, covered in scabs and possibly blisters. He really did hang on for the whole day... 

Spook rolled his eyes, done with Soldier and his antics. Spy just looked worried for Soldier’s mental health. Don’t worry Spook, we all worry about him sometimes.

I honestly shouldn’t be this surprised that he managed to hang onto the bottom for that long. This man got into a fight with a mountain once. He lost, but still. The fact he could hang onto a car the entire day isn’t very surprising.

Since Soldier was here, we couldn’t exactly be stealthy anymore. Any poor guard or worker who spotted us was killed quickly, by gun, knife, or rocket with accompanied war cry. I was okay with this, since it’s just like the battles we usually have every day. Just kinda wished I had my rifle. Then I could help Soldier from farther away, rather than relying on Spook’s revolver. It’s nice, but can’t shoot farther than I could throw it. Piss-poor range. Worse is that it’s so fragile that I can’t even hit people with it. Piece of garbage. I miss my rifle.

Soldier was more than okay with the lack of stealth, since he lived for this kind of fighting. He was having the time of his life, blasting through everyone without a care in the world and leaving craters in the walls.

Spy didn’t seem okay with this at all. He was jumpy, anxious, and kept giving Soldier a concerned look, either because of his hands or the fact Soldier didn’t seem to care about the structural integrity of the tunnel. At least he could shoot his own revolver skillfully.

Honestly, I’m still not sure why Spook was even kidnapped. I know he’s a spy but people don’t just randomly kidnap people without a reason, unless they’re an asshole. He’s usually level-headed and skilled enough to avoid capture.

Then again, this is Clauden we’re talking about. Maybe he just did it for a joke, or maybe he just did it to tourture someone. Bastard.

“Hey Spook.” I said. “Why were you kidnapped in the first place?”  
“I had information Clauden wanted apparently.” He answered  
“Did ya give it to him?”  
“Of course not, what kind of spy do you think I am?!”

That made sense. Still didn’t answer exactly what Clauden was looking for, but it was close enough.

Something still seemed to be bothering Spook. Rather than his normal snide remarks or sarcastic comments and jokes, he seemed overly focused on just getting out of here. Is he scared? I mean, I can’t blame him. I’m ready to go home and take a nap. But still, his reaction to everything is making me uneasy.

-

I think we’re lost.

Despite our navigational skills, we’ve passed the same bullet-hole ridden corridor more than a few times, and I was starting to get sick of it. We’ve been walking for hours, fighting off goons, and we still haven’t even seen a single sign of Clauden. Plus I forgot where the exit is, so that wasn’t helping. We can’t even bail if we wanted this. We’re trapped. Bugger

“This is irritating.” Spook grumbled.  
“Yea.” I said. Where they hell is this guy anyway?!”  
“Do any of you remember what the map looked like?”

I shook my head, as did Spy. Spook just pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You two are trained professionals and you can’t remember a simple-” Spook said.  
“Yer a professional too!” I snapped back, annoyed  
“I REMEMBERED THE MAP!” Soldier said proudly.  
“You do?” Spy said, looking surprised and relived.

Soldier then pulled out a large piece of wood that he tore off of the crate we wrote the map on. It was all still there, just a bit smudged since we used chalk.

“You’ve had that this entire time?!” I said, pissed.  
“YES!” Soldier said proudly.  
“Why didn’t ya tell us before!?”  
“YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR IT!”

He had a point but still. Spook just sighed and rolled his eyes, while Spy looked relieved that we wouldn’t be trapped in this hell hole any longer than we need to be.

Soldier put the map on the ground. It was smudged, but we could sort of tell where we came from. Turns out Clauden’s office isn’t too far from where we are, just a few hallways down. So we can just go shoot him, fight off some more guards, and run. So why did it still feel like something was wrong?

Probably because it’s been way too quiet. There hasn’t been a group of guards for a while, aside from a few brave loners. Maybe I’m just being too paranoid again. There’s four of us here, we should be fine.

And yet I still had that feeling. Something was going to go wrong. I could feel it. I don’t know what, but the coiling of my stomach was all too familiar. It had subsided when we found Spook, but it was still there.

We walked for about ten minutes before Spook dead stopped in the middle of a cross section. Apparently we had found another supply room. Instead of being full of metals and supplies, this one was full of technology. Boxes filled with tech ranging from teleporters to what looked like spare mechanical arms lined the walls. Wires and liquid australium were also found in abundance in other crates.

Spook slowly walked into the room, looking curious. Spy followed, looking curious as Spook was but with an added layer of concern that was becoming a common sight on his face.

“This looks like the Laborer’s machines.” Spook said.  
“Engies machines?” I asked, looking around. “They do seem similar.”

He nodded. They did sort of look like Engie’s machinery, although the stuff here was a yellow color rather than blue. It also had more exposed tubing and wires, like they were just prototypes or being dismantled. This could be bad.

“He’s been stealing tech, and then figuring it out how it works.” Spook said, thinking. “This explains the information he wanted earlier.”  
“This...also explains how he knew where to capture you.” Spy said.  
“It also explains why he took my invisi-watch.”  
“He took...your Cloaking Watch?!”  
“Invisi-watch,” Spook corrected. “And only one of them.” 

Spook revealed the spare he had on his wrist. He didn’t seem too concerned about losing the other one. Spy on the other hand looked slightly horrified.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Spook said, glancing at Spy.  
“Yes it is. If he managed to discover how to create cloaking technology-” Spy said, now panicking a bit.  
“He won’t. Besides, we have other things to worry about.”

Spy wanted to retort, but Spook probably wouldn’t listen. Spook took another look around, thinking some more. Something was bothering him, possibly bothering him more than a cloaking Clauden would. Not sure what would be worse than that, except maybe a cloaking sniper. That would be awful to deal with.

“This room explains how he knew I was, as he’s been stealing tech for a while now, but not why.” Spook said. “Perhaps-”

Spook was interrupted by a harsh scraping sound of metal-on-metal coming from behind us. We whirled around, weapons ready. Everybody had some sort of gun out all pointed at Clauden. He was standing in the doorway, having just clawed the door off of it’s hinges.

“Shame.” Clauden said. “I was going to let you all go once you managed to get out.”

He took a heavy step closer, claws bared and mechanical arm activating. He had a grin on his face.

Spy took a step back, looking more than a tad Spooked, a familiar look of worry and fear crossing his face. I couldn’t blame him. My stomach was currently doing backflips at the moment. Spook was as calm and collected as usual, looking more irritated than anything.

“But now you know too much.” Clauden said.

Soldier fired his rocket launcher at Clauden, who then proceeded to catch the rocket and disarm it, sending it clattering to the ground. It sparked with electricity. Soldier slung his rocket launcher over his shoulder and took out his shovel, growling.

“Your sapper is very useful.” Clauden said.

Spook narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. He fired his gun at him. In fact, we all did. The bullets pierced through his suit, but he was so big that it was like using pellets against a bull. Bugger.

“Merde.” Spook said, taking out his knife. “Is he armed?”

The hole on Clauden’s mechanical arm started to glow.

“Yes!” I said, ducking under a laser that Clauden fired.  
The beam ended up missing everyone, thankfully. It tore in the hole in the opposite side of the room, leaving a smoldering hole in the wall.

“We need to get out of here!” Spook said. “The room is too small for a fight like this!”

I nodded. Problem was, Clauden was blocking the door, leaving the only exit as the hole in the wall, which was too small. I don’t think we’d be able to slip past him. We’ll have to fight here.

Soldier shouted a war cry and charged at Clauden with his shovel. Despite his bravery, he ended up getting swatted aside like a fly, landing in a box of teleporters. Yea we definitely aren’t going to get past him. At least, not like that.

Something shifted on the ceiling by the door. Before I could really process what it could be, Spy dropped down onto Clauden’s back, using one pf his knives to stay in place and avoid getting thrown off.

“GET OFF!” Clauden roared, clawing at his back.  
“What on earth is he doing?” Spook asked.  
“I dunno.” I said, just as confused.

I couldn’t quite tell what Spook was doing. It looked like he was trying to cut off Clauden’s shirt with his other knife, but he was having difficulty since Clauden wouldn’t stop moving. 

Soldier was trying to help, shooting rockets and swinging his hammer with vigor and bravery. The rockets were disarmed anytime they actually got close, and the shovel was doing absolutely nothing against Clauden.

I re-loaded the revolver. I wish this thing was as powerful as my rifle was, so I could actually do some bloody damage. Whatever damage we were doing seemed to be completely pointless. Even the wounds we did earlier aren’t bleeding anymore.

“He’s regenerating.” Spook said. “How!?”  
“I don’t know!” I said, a bit panicked now. “He must’ve stolen a medi-gun or something.”

We dodged another beam. Spy managed to cut away at the back of Clauden’s suit, revealing a large, thin metal bar bolted into his back. Pipes and wires came out the back of the metal pack, all leading towards his robotic arm.

“Shoot the back SHOOT THE BACK!” Spy yelled frantically, trying to be heard over Soldier’s war cries and periodic gunshots from me and Spook.

It was harder than it looked. I didn’t want to accidentally hit Spy, so I had to be really careful where I shot. The fact that Clauden was still trying to get Spy off wasn’t helping either.

Clauden managed to grab Spy’s foot, crushing it and pulling him off before he could do anything else. He dangled Spy upside down for a moment, throwing him down the hallway. Clauden followed, giving us a cold side-eye before following where he threw Spy, growling.

Despite following quickly, both Clauden and Spy had disappeared into thin air. They must’ve headed down a hallway or something, unless Clauden could teleport.

“SHOW YOURSELF COWARD!” Soldier yelled, getting his rocket launcher ready.  
“Bloody hell where did they go?!” I yelled, hoping to get an answer.

The answer I received was a strangled cry of agony coming from down the hall. It sent a chill down my spine, despite the fact that I hear that sort of thing everyday. I ran towards it, grabbing a knife from a nearby box. 

It turned out to be Spy, who was currently having his shoulder crushed by Clauden’s mechanical hand, and his throat crushed by his non-mechanical one. He struggled, gasping for air, thrashing and trying to escape.

“You insignificant coward.” Clauden growled.

Bastard. I was going to fire at his shoulder and hope he dropped Spy, but he ended up throwing Spy to the ground once he noticed us.

“So, you’ve decided to keep fighting huh?” Clauden growled, approaching us  
“WE ARE NOT COWARDS!” Soldier yelled, firing a rocket at him.

The rocket did nothing. It simply disarmed itself once it got too close to him. Learning isn’t Soldier’s strong suit apparently.

“Soldier quit shooting rockets at ‘em!” I yelled, annoyed.

He didn’t listen. It didn’t matter too much, other than create more holes in the walls.

We can’t hurt him until we disable that thing on his back. I loaded up another shot, hoping to break something. I took a few steps back in order to get a better aim. Soldier was now trying to use his shovel again. I sighed and aimed for his shoulder. Those pipes seemed important enough to shoot at, and one just so happened to be high enough to where I could shoot him from here.

Spook, who had cloaked and snuck behind Clauden, shot him from behind and managed to take out a bundle of wires that controlled his arm. It went limp, hanging at Clauden’s side, completely useless now.

“MY ARM!” Clauden yelled, turning around to face Spook.  
“Oh no, your arm.” Spook said in a mocking tone.

I shot Clauden in the back, hopefully disabling something else. It was probably his healing thing, since his wounds would no longer heal. He spun around to face me, looking a touch worried, but mostly pissed. He pulled out his own pistol from his suit pocket and aimed it at me. I was going to shoot again, but Soldier beat me to it, firing a rocket at him. This time it managed to hit Clauden’s stomach without being disarmed.

Clauden let out a cry of pain and keeled over, landing with a thud onto his side and bleeding heavily. Was he dead? Who cares. He’ll die of blood loss eventually. He was out for the count and out of our hair now. I would’ve celebrated if I didn’t realize Spy still hadn’t moved at all. I ran over to him, with Spook and Soldier following.

Spy was still laying on the floor, shoulder a mangled mess. He was bruised and bloody, and had a crimson stream of blood running down from his shoulder like a river, staining his suit. His foot was also pretty broken. Thankfully he still seemed to be breathing.

“Can you hear me?” Spook said, kneeling next to be. “His suit is getting ruined.”  
“ANSWER MAGGOT!” Soldier yelled.

Neither of them got a response. Spook checked for a pulse.

“He’s still alive.” Spook said. “If we can get him to Medic fast enough, he just might live.”  
“ROGER THAT!” Soldier yelled, preparing to scoop Spy up.  
“Hold on mate!” I said, stopping him. “Let Spook pick him up-”  
“I am not picking him up.” Spook said, looking annoyed and disgusted. “He’ll ruin my suit.”

I rolled my eyes. Spook and his stupid suit. Why does he even buy the expensive stuff if it’s just going to get ruined by blood? He’s a mercenary! You know what, forget it. I’ll just carry Spy.

“It’s a...cheap...suit.” Spy muttered.  
“HE IS AWAKE!” Soldier yelled happily.

Hey, he’s awake. Despite being thrown against a wall he still seemed pretty lucid.

“My suit,” Spook said lowly. “Is worth more than your entire-”  
“My...suit....” Spy muttered.

Okay so he’s not entirely there, but still alive and kinda lucid. Spook relaxed a bit, regaining his composure.

“Ah.” Spook said. “I thought you were talking about mine. My apologies.”

I was about to put my hands under Spy’s back to pick him up before a sound interrupted me. Mystomach was tying itself into knots again.

The metal on the floor squeaked. Something shifted behind me, and it’s shadow caught the corner of my eye. Spook noticed as well, standing up and turning around to check and see if it was just his imagination. He pulled out his gun.

“Let’s just-”

Spook was cut off. A gunshot rang out, leaving all else silenced. Spook stood frozen for a moment, a shocked expression on his face, then fell to his knees, then to the ground. He was bleeding from a shot to the head, blood pooling onto the floor like a tap, staining his suit.

I couldn’t hear anything else after that. Soldier yelled something, Spy might’ve said something else. 

I think I screamed, called out for Spook, but I wasn’t sure.


	12. The Way Home

Spook was dead. He was shot clean through the head. He’s dead. He’s gone. We came all this way and it was all bloody pointless!

Clauden was laughing, holding the pistol he had in his pocket. It was a deep, sinister chuckle. He was barely standing, Laughing his ass off as he stumbled to his feet .

“I guess your little mission was pointless.” Clauden said, giving the same shark-like grin he gave me in his office.

I narrowed my eyes. He had no guilt, no sorrow, no second thought. He’s done this before, and he’ll gladly do this again.

White-hot rage filled me rather than the cold sensation of dread as I pulled out the revolver Spook gave me. Without any hesitation, I pulled the trigger, landing a bullet between his eyes. Clauden slumped back down to the ground, unmoving for good this time.

Soldier was in shock, staring at Clauden’s body, clutching his shovel in his hand with a mixture of surprise, shock, and confusion. I don’t think he’s processed what just happened. I don’t think I have either.

The adrenaline and rage I had before faded into a cold, empty feeling. I dropped Spook’s revolver and fell to my knees beside him, checking for his pulse. Maybe he was still alive and just knocked out. Maybe he was just…faking it. Maybe it was a dead ringer? He always does it. No, he didn’t have it on him. Maybe I just can’t find it.

No pulse. He was dead. I shouldn’t be surprised, it was a shot through the head. You can’t survive that without an overheal. Heck, even with an overheal you still might not survive that.

Spook had always guessed he would die instead of retirement. He said it was lucky that he lived to be almost fifty as a spy. He said spys usually died by either tourture or a shot to the head. It was just how things worked. Guess he was right.

Something still bothered me. Something was unsettling. I think it’s the silence, given that Soldier is here. A cold, crushing silence that suffocated everything.

I looked over. Soldier was still kneeling next to Spy, holding his shovel. He was looking over at me with silent concern. My stomach sank, and dread started to creep up again. He was going to die here too. Maybe he was already dead. No, not like this. I wasn’t going to lose another spy to this guy.

I glanced frantically between Spy and Spook, trying to think of a way to get out, and trying to stay level-headed. Soldier was looking at me, concerned.

I noticed Spook’s invisi-watch. He only had one, since Clauden stole the other, but Spy had two. I had a plan. If soldiers can run fast enough, we might just be able to get out of here with our heads.

I took Spook’s invisi-watch from his wrist and put it on my own. I was half tempted to take his mask too, see who was actually under it. I decided against it, since it would be very disrespectful.

I Kneeled next to Spy, taking his spare invisi-watch from him. He won’t mind, I hope. Soldier was across from me, looking curious and naively hopeful. 

“Soldier,” I said. “I have a very important job for you to do.”

My words came out a bit colder than I intended, but it got his attention. He looked up, grinning. Guess he trusts me.

“YES?” Soldier asked.  
“Give me your hand.” I said.

He stretched his arm out over Spy’s body. I wrapped the invisi-watch around his wrist and secured it with the clip. I did the same to mine, although it fit better on me.

“Do you know the way out?” I asked.  
“YES!” He said proudly, but still looked confused.  
“Good.”

I was still holding onto his arm. There were noises coming from down the hallways.

“When I press this button…” I said, craning my neck to see the doorway.

More noises. No visuals yet, but they were close. I could feel my gut tightening. Could I trust Soldier not to be an idiot with this? Is Spy actually going to make it or will this be another failure? Are any of us going to get out okay?

“I need you to pick Spy up and run towards the exit as fast as you can.”

More noises, shouting. I gritted my teeth. Determination was written on Soldier’s face. He was ready.

“Do not scream, do not yell-”

Footsteps could be heard. I really hoped I remembered how to work these bloody things.

“-and do not stop until you reach the camper, no matter what happens!”

Soldier nodded, grinning. At least he would enjoy this. I Cloaked Spy, myself, and then finally Soldier. The door was busted open just as the cloak finished making us invisible, with armed guards searching the room. Soldier scooped Spy up and ran out, with me following. We were making a whole lot of noise, but the guards still couldn’t see us. This might actually work.

Soldier barreled down the hallway, heading up some stairs. This was working way better than I thought. Despite our stomping, the guards still didn’t see us.

The cloak was starting to wear off. We were still ways away from my camper, and there were guards everywhere.

The cloak fully wore off when we reached the storage room me and Spy came across earlier. It was swarming with guards. Bugger.

They noticed us, and started firing. We just kept running, dodging bullets. Spy was dripping blood onto the floor.

A sharp pain struck my side and I fell over, gripping my side with my hand. One of the guards had shot me. Panic coiled through me as I scrambled back to my feet, panting and trying to get up before they shot me again. I felt someone grab me.

“LET GO OF ME YA WA-” I said, ready to kick whoever had just grabbed me in the face, but I was cut off.

Thankfully it turned out to just be Soldier. He put me on his back and continued running at a pretty fair pace, with me clinging to him like a koala. Wish his rocket launcher would stop hitting the side of my face.

Bullets whizzed past my face as Soldier continued running, eventually reaching the hole we came in from. Soldier jumped up, grabbing onto the divits in the walls and climbed upwards, straining under our weight. 

The guards were left behind in the hole. They just sort of stared up at us in silence and in thought. After one last glance, they walked away. They could easily follow us, why won’t they just climb? It didn’t matter. We just had to get home now.

I stopped down from Soldier’s back, wincing as more pain shot through my side. The entire right side of my abdomen was covered in blood. Bugger. Just taking a step sent more pain through me. It didn’t help that I was starting to feel a bit woozy from blood loss. Maybe I have a first-aid kit in the Camper? Hopefully.

Me and Soldier made it out of the building and to my camper. I walked inside, looking for anything that could be used for a band-aid. Old underwear? Sure, why not. It’s been cleaned before and Medic used his underwear to- okay maybe not. It smells like piss and mold.

I was frantic. Spy was going to die. He was going to die before we even got halfway back to the base. I was probably going to die of blood loss and nobody would even know what happened. Bugger, bugger, bugger!

I was tearing things out of the drawers and cabinets, looking for anything clean. Why don’t I ever do laundry?! Why don’t I have a bloody first-aid kit?! My breathing was short and painful, and my chest and stomach felt like they were trying to choke me from the inside. Maybe it was pointless. Maybe I should just accept this.

I found some towels. They were clean.

I ran out of the camper to find Soldier, still holding Spy.

“YOU ARE BLEEDING!” Soldier pointed out.  
“I know mate, I know. Here.” I said, handing him a bunch of towels. “Help me patch ‘em up.”

Soldier laid Spy on the ground. I wrapped a towel around his foot, tying it as tightly as I could without breaking anything else. Problem was, his shoulder was still bleeding heavily, and I wasn’t sure how a towel could help with that.

I lifted Spy up to get the towel underneath him so I could wrap it around. He groaned, opening an eye. He looked terrified.

“It’s just me mate.” I said. “Go back to sleep.”  
“O-oh” He mumbled, relaxing again.

Once he was patched up I took a look at my own wound. It was still bleeding heavily. My hands were shaking as I tried to wrap a towel around my stomach to stop the bleeding. Soldier eventually helped me, wrapping the towel a little too tightly around me.

“Thanks’s mate.” I said, still a bit shaky.  
“YOU'RE WELCOME!” Soldier said, picking up spy

We climbed into the driving part of my camper. This time I was holding onto Spy while Soldier drived. Normally I wouldn’t let him drive, but I didn’t want to pass out at the wheel again. He slammed the accelerator and we jerked forward, heading towards the base at record speeds. Thankfully we were the only ones on the road, since Soldier probably can’t see under his helmet.

A dark road stretched in front of us. We sat in silence for a while absorbed in our own thoughts. Soldier drove, focused almost too intensely on the road ahead of us.

I wonder how the rest of the team will react. Probably won’t react much to be honest. Spys don’t really need a team member, and the fact spy was more solitary than the stupid card game, it’s no wonder they don’t actuallly care. Well, Pyro will be sad. They and Spook were in a one-sided friendship, so maybe they’ll be upset. Scout might be upset too. He doesn’t know Spook was his father, but he still liked the guy. Heavy might miss him too, since he’s the only other guy who knows how to speak russain, unless Spy knows how to. Maybe the team really does care.

Maybe they don’t care. Maybe they never cared. Spook cared, since he did that think with the bucket and our last wishes, but I don’t think the rest of the team cares about him. Maybe I’m the only one who cares. Maybe they don't even care about me. We have similar jobs after all, and I ain’t exactly the most social of people-

“SNIPER!” Soldier yelled, snapping me out of my thoughts.  
“What!?” I said, adrenaline pumping through my veins.  
“YOU WERE FALLING ASLEEP!”  
“Mate, I was just thinking.”  
“OH.”

He went back to driving. I sighed in frustration. I guess Soldier cares about us, he wouldn’t have clung to the bottom of the camper if he didn’t care after all, but does he have to be so damn loud?!

I looked at Spy. He looked a bit pale, and was still out cold. He was still breathing though, which was a relief.

Does Spy care? He seems too. He seems to care enough to want to come with me, although he is a spy. I still don’t know why he wanted to help so badly. Did he want revenge? He seemed more anxious than vengeance-seeking. He cared enough not to use me as a meat shield against the guards. Maybe he does care.

The base was in sight. I don’t know what day it was, but we certainly missed at least one battle. Team’s going to be pissed.

Soldier stopped the camper and stepped out, kicking the door open and carrying Spy for me while I got out myself. My legs shook as we headed towards the doors, with me using Soldier’s shoulder as a support and Spy still out cold. I’m so bloody tired.

The doors swung open. Scout was probably going for his morning run or something. He stopped cold in his tracks.

“Yo where have you guys been!? We’ve been lookin’ all over for y- Oh shit!”

At first he was angry, then he was scared. He must’ve seen the shape we were in.

“I-I’ll go get medic. Aye yo MEDIC!” He said, running off at record speeds.

I stood there, vision starting to fade Medic eventually came out along with Engie. Engie was probably scolding us about something while Medic dragged us to his lab, but I didn’t process anything. I was so tired. So bloody tired. Somebody grabbed my shoulder. Medic was telling somebody something. I could feel pressure on my back. There was a wave of warmth that passed over me. I could feel my pain melting away before everything went completely dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're on the homestretch now.


	13. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes back to normal.

Chapter 13:

I woke up with a start, sitting up so fast it was enough to make me dizzy. I was panting as my eyes tried to adjust to the room. There was a bright light above me, and I heard familiar voices nearby. I relaxed. I was safe, at least as safe as someone could be in the “Clinic.”

I was in a medical bed, half-covered in a blanket and wearing a clean t-shirt and black boxers. My wounds had been healed, most likely by the medi-gun currently pointed at me from the ceiling. Feeling my side, I couldn’t feel any pain or remnants of the bullet wound. Feeling my neck, I could feel a scar. Guess the medi-gun doesn’t fix everything.

Heavy was sitting in a chair nearby, reading some sort of russain novel. He glanced over at me and gave a short nod of greeting before returning to his book. He didn’t seem too concerned, so I guess I was going to be fine.

Medic walked in, looking happy that I was awake. He stepped in with a familiar pep in his step, the same kind of pep he had when he had the RED Spy’s head in the fridge. Almost felt bad for the wanker. Almost.

“Herr Sniper! You are awake and feeling better, yes?” He asked, grinning.  
“Yea mate.” I said bag, still feeling a bit groggy.

He walked over and checked my wounds, lifting up my shirt without asking. It annoyed me more than anything. Once he was done there he let go of the shirt and grabbed my chin with his hand and lifted up to get a good view of my neck. I instinctively grabbed his arm, although he didn’t seem to notice or care.

“You’re healed! Good!” Medic said. As usual, he seemed happy after a successful treatment. “Although it did leave a scar.”

He let go of my face, stepping back and writing down something in his clipboard. I rubbed my jaw, glaring at him. Despite his looks, the guy had some strength.

Guess it could’ve been worse. I could’ve woken up in a bathtub of ice without my kidneys, although those are probably too damaged for anyone to use them.

I still couldn’t see Spy or Soldier though. I know Soldier wasn’t badly injured, just his hands, but Spy...we might’ve been too late for him. My stomach sunk. I hope we weren’t too late.

“What about Spy?” I asked, scared of the answer.  
“Hmm?” Medic said, looking up from a piece of paper he had. “Oh! Herr Spy will be just fine! He’s healed quite nicely, if I do say so myself.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was still alive. He would recover. He would be okay.

“Yes, yes. I’ll admit it was a close call, but once the medi-gun activated he started to heal. Too bad It didn’t heal that nasty scar on his face though…” Medic trailed off.  
“Thanks Medic.” I said.  
“Ah, speaking of scars, where on earth did you two go anyway?”

I should’ve seen that question coming. I guess I should be glad he was concerned rather than angry. Guess he forgives stupidity more than not standing still for healing during battle.

Should I tell him? Probably. There’s no reason not too. Engie’d probably want to know what we found as well. Guess I’ll have to tell him later on.

“Well, ya see-” I was cut off.

Engie walked in, boots clicking on the tiles of the tourture chamber. He somehow managed looking both annoyed and relieved at the same time, sort of like my mother after I got into a fight at school. He was dressed in his casual clothing, which included a heavy glove over his mechanical arm.

“Hey Engie.” I said. He didn’t look amused.  
“Glad yer okay son,” He said, adjusting the glove that hid his mechanical hand. “ But where the hell did you boys run off too!?”

He was pissed, standing there with his arms crossed. Medic was standing next to him, more curious than anything else. Heavy was eavesdropping from the other side of the room, absentmindedly flipping through his book and half-reading.

“Didn’t ya ask Spy?” I asked, uncomfortable with all the staring.  
“He is still asleep!” Medic said.

I sighed, and just decided to tell them. I told them about what we found in Spooks old room, why we left, what we found at the compound, what happened to us, Everything. I even told them what happened to Spook. After I was done, they just stared in silence. Heavy was still listening from the otherside of the room, although now he had a frown on his face.

“It wasn’t a respawn error…” Medic said, in slight awe. “You couldn’t have brought back Spy’s body?”

I narrowed my eyes at medic. I was honestly about to punch him in the jaw. Thankfully heavy intervened, standing between me and Medic.

“Docktor, be nice.” Heavy grumbled.

One he saw that I wouldn’t attack him, Heavy went back into his chair, occasionally glancing up at me. He knew I hated Medic. Why the hell this guy defends Medic is beyond me.

“I’m going to have to start destroying my old stuff” Engie muttered, now looking concerned. “The Administrator is going to tear us a new one.”  
“We don’t have to tell her, no?” Medic said, turning his attention to medic.  
“She probably already knows honestly.”

Being honest, I almost forgot about the Admin. Engie was right, she was going to be pissed and probably cut our pay. Or replace us, given how quickly she replaced Spook.

Scout poked his head through the door.

“Guys? Miss Pauling’s here.” He said, looking concerned.

Pauling poked her head in the door, her familiar notepad in her arms. I’ll admit, my first thought was that she was just going to kill us all right here for being idiots.

“Is this a bad time?” She asked, looking around.  
“No.” Engie said. “Not at all.”  
“Hey Pauling!” Scout said cheerfully.  
“Hey.”

She walked into the lab, heels clicking on the floor. looking a bit confused herself.

“So, normally she would just tell you this herself.” Pauling said. “But communications are down, so I have to relay her message”  
“That sucks.” Scout said.  
“It’s not that bad.”

She adjusted her glasses.

“Okay here we go.” She said, flipping through her pages.

We all watched with intensity. Medic had taken out his own clipboard to write this down to tell everyone later on. Enige listened closely, wincing in anticipation. Heavy listened from his corner.

“So for skipping a battle and going AWOL...uh”

She looked down in confusion at the note the Admin gave her.

“You are to be...thanked?” She said.

She looked up at us. Heavy visibly perked up from the other side of the room. Scout’s jaw dropped. Engie and Medic seemed a bit startled.

I was shocked. Everyone was shocked. Thanked? For what? Was Clauden a pain in her ass too? We skipped a battle! We left the base without her permission! We murdered a fairly famous guy!

How does she even know what happened anyway? Did someone already tell her? Maybe they hacked into Clauden’s cameras. He was close enough to the base for someone to do that.

“So...uh...thank you Sniper, on behalf of the Administrator. Will you be able to thank Spy and Soldier for me later?” Pauling said, just as confused as everyone else.  
“Uh...sure mate.” I said.  
“Great. I uh, gotta go.”

She left the room in a hurry. Normally Scout would follow her and try to set up a date for the fifteenth time, but he didn’t this time. He just stood there in shock, mouth hanging open.

“...what just happened?” Scout asked.  
“I don’t have a clue mate.” I responded. I was just as confused as he was.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. I wasn’t too dizzy anymore, although I was still groggy.

“I’m going to go see if Spy’s awake.” I mumbled.

Medic let me pass. They all stayed behind, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. They were starting a fruitless debate when I left the room. I shook my head. Sometimes the Admin can be a bit difficult to interpret. You knew when she was angry, but that’s about it.

I eventually found the room Spy was in, thanks to Soldier’s voice booming down the hallways. He sounded very disappointed in something.

“WE ARE TRAITORS!” Soldier yelled.  
“Soldier we are not...traitors.” Spy mumbled.

Spy was awake...kinda. He looked like he had just been woken up, groggily listening to Solider yell at his insufferable volume. To give Spy credit, he was trying to comfort Soldier. I’d honestly just punch him in the face. 

Spy’s wounds were gone. He wasn’t as pale, and perked up once he saw me, his face going from mild frustration and dread to relief and happiness. I walked to his side of the bed. 

He was wearing the same type of white shirt and black shorts that Medic gave me. He still had his mask on though. The scar on the side of his face was still visible. Honestly he could be a lot more intimidating if he tried.

“ ‘Ello Sniper.” Spy said. Relieved that I was here.  
“Hey.” I responded.  
“HELLO SNIPER!” Soldier yelled.

God he was still so bloody loud I was seriously considering trying to figure out which one of Medic’s needles would put him to sleep. I still hadn’t had any coffee in days yet and this wanker-

Oh yea, I have to thank him for Miss Pauling. Almost forgot.

“Admin said thanks to you two.”  
“...Thanks?” Spy asked, confused.  
“Yea. I know mate, I don’t know why either.”

Soldier took a few moments to process everything. He then broke out into a huge grin, throwing his fist into the air.

“WE ARE NOT TRAITORS!” He yelled.

Spy winced, still not being able to adjust to Soldier’s volume. I should probably get him out of here.

“No we are not…” Spy said.  
“How about you go tell everyone else.” I grumbled, trying to get him out of here.

Soldier ran off to yell at someone, boots stomping on the old wooden flooring. Guess he went looking specifically for Demo, who had been walking by. Demo’s always happy to see Soldier.

At least he was out of our hair. Problem was, without Soldier’s yelling, the room was quiet. The only thing that was making noise were the

“I assume your old spy didn’t make it?” Spy asked.  
“...No.” I muttered.

It hurt to say that. It was like I had just killed him by saying that, even though I knew he was already gone. Spy just nodded. We stood in silence for a while.

“I’m sorry.” Spy said. I perked up.  
“Sorry? It ain’t your fault mate.” I said.

He didn’t say anything. He just shook his head, sighing.

“I should’ve killed him all those years ago.” He muttered, sounding frustrated.  
“Ya couldn’t have known he would live mate.” I said, trying to comfort him.  
“I still should have checked.”  
“Checked what? Rocks?”

He thought for a while, then sighed. He wanted to say something else, I was sure, but probably didn’t feel like arguing. He looked up, noticing something and wincing.

“You...have a scar on your neck.” He mumbled.  
“Eh, it’s not that bad. Doesn’t hurt.” I said.  
“...The medi-gun didn’t get rid of it.”

“Tomorrow we have to battle again.” He said, changing the subject.  
“Ah.” I said. “Guess I should go get some sleep then.” I muttered.

He nodded, swinging his legs and getting out of bed. He scratched his chin and stretched. We both walked down the hallway, took one last glance at each other, then split. He went to his room, shutting the door quietly, and I went to my camper. I could still hear Soldier somewhere in the base, yelling about something, and Scout’s equally loud and fruitless attempts to tell him to shut the hell up. Glad I sleep in a separate area.

Outside, it was sunset. My boots sunk slightly into the sand of the desert. Normally I’d wait for the sun to fully set before going to sleep, but I was still exhausted. My head hurt from a caffeine withdrawal. My entire body was screaming for sleep.

Me and Spook would usually share a cigarette around this time. He’d complain about how gross my camper was. I’d tell him to piss off. We’d laugh at Soldier being stupid with Demo. I’d try to help him with Scout, since he wasn’t the best at that sort of thing. He’d help me with my parents, since I had a tendency to lose my temper with them.

I stepped into my camper. Stuff from my drawers and cabinets littered the floor. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my frantic searching before, or because of Soldiers driving. I managed to get closer to my bed by moving some things aside with my foot.

I think I was the first person he told directly about Scout being his son. Medic knew from his medical records, and everybody else kinda figured it out on their own. Honestly it was kind of obvious. Scout shared Spook’s stubbornness and sarcasm. They even had a similar facial structure. Honestly the only people who didn’t figure it out is Soldier and Scout. Maybe I should tell him? No, I promised Spook I’d let him figure it out for himself. Wonder if he ever will.

I took off my clothing, throwing them onto the ground. Floor was a mess anyway, might as well add to it. I climbed into bed, finally resting. Still, something nagged at me.

I always sleep in the nude, much to Spook’s dismay, but this was the first time I really felt...exposed. I feel vulnerable. I wasn’t scared, but I was...lonely. Nobody else on the team gave me the time of day, save for Scout and occasionally Pyro. Medic would heal me, and Engie would let me use his dispensers and teleporters, so they don’t hate me. They just seem so far away. They care, sure, but it wasn’t the same somehow. I don’t trust them as much. I don’t think Spook did either.

He was dead. No respawn, no dead ringer, no coming back from heaven. He was just gone. He left a void on the team that the new Spy is going to have a fun time trying to fill. He’s gone. He’s really gone. Why does it still hurt so much to say that? He’s dead! It’s not like saying he’s alive would bring him back.

Wonder if the RED Team knows. Maybe. They’re not stupid, despite how much I want them to be. They’re like sharks, and use any weakness they find, even if it’s a private one. The RED spy in particular loves teasing Medic about losing his medical license. Bastard.

My face was wet. I couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears at first. It was tears. I was crying. I guess it just hit me now that Spook was gone. At least it didn’t happen in front of anyone else.

I wiped my face with my arm and rolled over, curling into a loose ball. I tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. It was bloody impossible. Tomorrow is going to be awful.

Eventually, I got into a position I trusted, buried my head into a pillow, and fell into a restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it folks! Thanks to everyone who read my fic! I didn't really expect to get any attention on it.
> 
> I do plan on continuing with the BLU Team, but I didn't want to just make one long fic, so I plan on breaking it up into parts to make it easier to digest. This is just the beginning, so stay tuned!
> 
> Have a good day!
> 
> Also, a special thanks to Anonomy, who saved me from first-fic nerves! Seriously, thank you so much. I probably never would have continued writing if it wasn’t for you.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again for reading and giving me the time of day. I hope you will stay to see the other chapters, eventually at least.


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